The Power of Criticism - Sunday Sermons by Cordell Vail

SUNDAY SERMONS

By Cordell and Janice Vail

14 Mar 2004

A weekly email gospel message for the descendents of Ammon and Winona Vail

The Power of Criticism

Someone "In the family" put this following anonymous message in my guest book on my epistles web page.

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Name: A friend in the family
E-Mail:
Homepage Title:
Homepage URL:
Referred By: Search Engine
Location:
Comments: Dear Cordell,
In one of your recent Sunday Sermons entitled divine protection, you mention that "Grandma's Patriarchal blessing" says that she will be protected. My question is that the church tells us not to share our patriarchal blessings with other people, so what would the church think about sharing other people's blessings without their permission?

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Because of other criticism I received, I don't post the Sunday Sermons even on the hidden web page any more so only the few of you who receive them by email would have known I wrote the one about "DIVINE PROTECTION"

Because I have received so much criticism from "FRIENDS IN THE FAMILY" I think I will discontinue writing the Sunday Sermons for now. Apparently sacred things are best just kept sacred and not even shared with other family members.

By the way Elder Packer's recent talk on Patriarchal blessings says:

The Stake Patriarch
Conference Report October 2002
President Boyd K. Packer
Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

"A patriarchal blessing is recorded and transcribed by one who is assigned by the stake president. That blessing becomes a very personal treasure.

Except for members of the immediate family, we should not permit others to read our blessing nor should we ask others to interpret it. Neither the patriarch nor the bishop can or should interpret it."

I only sent the Sunday Sermons to those who requested to have them so I was not imposing my "stories" on anyone who did not want to hear them. I guess I assumed that because our "FRIEND IN THE FAMILY" who requested to subscribe to the Sunday Sermons is a member of our immediate family, it would be OK to mention mothers Patriarchal Blessing when I was not "READING" it to anyone. Several general authorities have mentioned parts of their blessing in conference including Harold B. Lee as the president of the church.

It would appear that sometimes sacred things are just best kept in a journal to be read by others after we are dead. It is my hope in sending out the Sunday Sermons, that sharing my testimony and selected sacred experiences would help our family grow closer to the church and my witness of the truthfulness of the gospel would help you and your children to be stronger in the church as well. This criticism of sharing sacred things with close family and friends makes me wonder now if it is best for me to just use my witness as a missionary tool teaching non-members and remain silent within our family. This is a very sad day for me.

Criticism....... It is a very powerful tool.... My final counsel to you is to be very careful how you use it.

Uncle Cordell

NOTE: Nothing in any of these Sunday Sermons is intended to represent the official doctrines of the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are strictly instructions and teachings from Cordell and Janice Vail to their family.