How can different children from the same family descend from different partiachal lines?

Hi Gramps,

I have been really curious about our lineage when receiving a patriarchal blessing. I have heard of parents both descending from one line but their children descending from totally different lines. How is this possible? And where can I find out about each line? Thank you .

Dayle, from Beaverton, Oregon

Dear Dayle,

You might ask, how can brown eyed parents have blue eyed children? The genes for brown eyes are dominant and the genes for blue eyes are recessive. If each of the parents carried one gene for blue and one gene for brown, their eyes would be brown, but the probability that their children would have blue eyes would be one in four.

It is possible that the traits that dictate tribal identity could also be genetically related.

Gramps