wording of blessings based on "consciousness"

[Papaga]

I have a question related to performance of Priesthood blessings of the sick and Naming/blessing a newborn:

If a patient (adult) is unconscious or clearly comatose, and I am asked to give him a blessing, should I pronounce the blessing, by directly calling upon the Lord to grant the blessing, by virtue of the priesthood e.g. "Father, we pronounce this blessing upon this patient", etc., rather than directly addressing the patient by name, as is the usual practice< when he would be conscious and alert and able to understand our words...e.g. "Brother Doe, we bless you", etc.????

Similarly, if asked to name and bless a 3 week old infant in Sacrament meeting, should the blessing part of the ordinances be done using similar language, e.g. "Father we pronounce such and such blessing upon this infant":...etc., rather than addressing the infant directly, who is clearly too young to comprehend, e.g. "Ann Marie Doe, we bless you with a healthy body and sound mind"....etc????

Any discussion or official guidelines are welcomed, D. Long

[rmrichesjr]

The instructions for administering to the sick in Handbook 2: 20.6, particularly 20.6.2 and 20.6.3, have no mention of a difference in procedure depending on whether the recipient is conscious. The instructions say simply to call the person by his or her full name.

The instructions for naming and blessing a child in Handbook 2: 20.2.2 say to start by addressing Heavenly Father, independent of whether the child is a baby or an older child.

[russellhltn]

From what I understand, hearing is the last thing to go. Even if they may not seem conscious, they may still be able to hear.

I'd also note that in the scriptures, when Jesus raised the dead, he addressed the individual and told them to rise.