There's a sense of humor, and then there's good humor. I agree that it is a gift to have either, and rare to have both.

I've always felt uplifted by the humor and advice of church leaders, especially George Durrant who says "I've always wished I was smarter (but)I was smart enough ... but I found out that you can't be both handsome and smart.

Neal A. Maxwell joking that the light from his cranium brought illumination to the pulpit after loosing his hair from cancer treatments was an inspiration for anyone facing hard times.

J. Golden Kimball, when asked his opinion about women wearing cosmetics said "Well, a little paint never hurt any old barn."

Also, one of the reasons young missionaries are successfull is their humor.

Always think highly of yourself, but don't take yourself too seriously. Remember I'm not laughing with you, I'm laughing at you.

Using a sense of humor--that is special.

I don't remember the last time I heard anything funny out of those guys.
I thought laughter was a bad thing.

Ernie, you thought wrong.

"My dear mothers cooking was so poorly received that father used to refer to saying grace before a meal, as "delaying the inedible..."

(Muffled chuckles of thousands...)

LDS church, sense of humor- in the same sentence?? That is humerous!

I feel really sorry for all you Professional Mormon Haters. It must be a real burden to have to be so full of hate and sarcasm all the time.

Of course, if you actually had any idea what you were talking about you would know that the LDS Church is famous for jokes and laughter during Church services.

Another thing you can get in Church is illumination and joy in your heart. Why don't you try it sometime. You will be able to find truth and meaning in your life. It also might lift this terrible burden you are carrying around. Truly. Come and learn of Christ for his "Yoke is easy and his burden is light."

There is not one example of Jesus using humor in any scripture.

He is the ultimate example. We should show kindness, humility, generosity and sympathy to our fellowman, but not humor. It is not in the Gospel.

We all need a sense of humor. I see it in church, at general conference. It has place. Whenever I meet a person with no sense of humor I know that the person is or will be "suffering". Life is hard and laughter helps us get through the difficult times. Laughing at ourselves is actually a sign of humility. Many people take themselves to seriously. Lighten up! You'll live better if not longer.

We came here to learn to be like our Father in Heaven, and He has a sense of humor; how else does one explain the Chicago Cubs?
His best joke will be at the resurection when we are all restored to our perfect frame and all you tall, skinny people find yourselves short and chubby!

I served my mission in Jacksonville Florida and my sense of humor made me many friends both LDS and non LDS alike but a word of warning for future missionaries when an angry redneck asks you to leave his property or he will do something unmentionable with your bike .. keep the funny comment to yourself at that time however amusing it is he means every word and will chase you and you will learn just how fast you can actually run then pedal been there, done that because of my big mouth and bad choice regarding sense of humor also to my friends in Jacksonville, be careful regarding tropical storm Fay you're in my prayers

Ernest, having read your comments on this website for a long time, methinks you haven't ever listened to an LDS church leader ever.

Boyd K. Packer always cracks me up with his witty stories.
Spencer W. Kimball put me on the floor a number of times.
Harold B. Lee was hysterical.
Go figure.

I'm not into dry humor. It bores me.

Quite a number of the jokes cited were offensive in some way or another. There was sexism, sarcasm, and just plain rudeness. I've heard funny comments by leaders during talks, but these examples, by and large, were not the best examples to be used.

Anybody who saw Pres Monson wiggle his ears at last April's priesthood session knows he has a fantastic sense of humor. Man, that brought the house down!

To My2Cents: Jesus did not wear trousers, a belt or suspenders, drive a car, use underarm deoderant, shave with an electric razor, or ride in an airplane or train. He didn't speak English in the Bible. I assume Christians are allowed to do those things nevertheless. Some are even good for you. I am personally confident that Jesus has a sense of humor, since he offers to save even dour people like yourself.

Humor used by LDS leaders generally makes themselves, or their fellow Church members as a body, the butt of the joke. It is generally a gentle humor, not a bitter humor that ridicules others.

To the author: How about a book of humorous stories told by LDS leaders in church meetings? It could be titled "Faith Promoting Humor".

There's probably no specific example of Jesus' humor because it was likely so pervasive in all he said. He was Jewish. Every Jew I've ever met had a well-developed sense of humor often expressed in self-deprecating and sarcastic ways.

Fish? You got fish? I'll give you fish. And don't even get me started about the bread.

:o)

Please read more carefully, the scriptures are full of instances in which the Lord clearly demonstrated a sense of humour.
Matthew 21,Mark 11 and Luke 20 all relate the same instance in which the Chief Priests and Elders of the temple question the source of the Lord's authority. They knew that asking this question would trap the Lord. No matter how He answered, they would be able to manipulate it into damaging His character.
Nonplussed as always, The Lord calmy asks them a similarly designed question concerning John the Baptist's authority. When the Elders recognize that they have been caught in their own snare, they reply to the Lord, "We cannot tell" (Matt 21:27). They knew the answer, but knew it would make them look foolish!

The Lord's reply to this admission of unwillingness is hilarious. He says to them, in effect; Then I am not going to answer you either.

And THAT surely sent the assembled crowd into laughter. It was deemed funny enough that 3 of the four gospel writers included it in their brief accounts of the Savior's Ministry. Why is that?

He told us to be "as a little child"
Who laughs more than children?

To my2cents: The scriptures are very limited records on everything the Savior has said and done. These accounts are very brief. We don't have any idea what kind of sense of humor he has just from reading the scriptures. His representatives on earth have a lot of humor. We can take that as a sign that the Lord does too.

Some people try to be funny and laugh a lot , but they are truly down right rude. Some humor is quite off the wall to say it best. I have seen people laugh over hideous remarks made by someone that were down right mean. Some try to be humorous but truly are not.

If anyone questions the sense of humor that Heavenly Father has, just look at us, his children. Just look at some of the posts we see on this forum. Ha Ha Ha, Ho Ho Ho!

Oral tradition tells a story of one of the early apostles talking to the Master. Because Judea was occupied by the hated Roman Empire you can imagine who was the topic of convesation then. The dialog goes as follows:

Apostle: Master, what do you call ten Roman Legions at the bottom of the Mediterrainian Sea?

Master: A good start

A: Master a rabbi, a gentile and Pontius Pilate. Are in a sinking boat surrounded by sharks. Who survives?

M: The rabbi does not but is transported to the bosom of Abraham. The gentile is likewise consumed. Now Pontius Pilate is a special case. The sharks line up and carry him to shore. He barely gets his sandles wet.

A: How is this so Master?

M: Professional courtesy

Carrie, great article. Who said that you were serious all the time? Not true!

In some ways, humor is the cousin of humility. People that you know that are always purposely try to be funny are akin to people that declare that they are humble.

No doubt, one needs a good sense of humor when dealing with mormonism; it is absolutly laughable.

There is somewhat of a line between acceptable humor and rude humor, but I think the apostles and prophets of the church have clearly mastered the art of humor.

Why are there so many crows in Utah?....

They are the descendants of the seagulls who refused to eat the crickets.

Not a good thing.

I went to church last week. It wasn't funny.

One time in High Priests, we were discussing food storage.

We were going around the room, describing what we have for supplies, and the guy next to me, when it was his turn, said he was fine.

"I have a gun and a Stake Directory".

Joseph Smith Jr. was a prankster. He loved playing pranks on his friends and others. I believe Joseph Smith must have had a bit humor about him.

Some people dont know how to laugh. Others dont know when to laugh.Others laugh at everything. Some laugh at nothing.Some people are a big laugh in and of themselves.Some people are funny. Others are funny looking.Some people try to be funny and they are not while others try not to be funny and they are.For me I am none of the above to some people and some of the above to none.

James: this is neither the time or place to do the anti mormon thing.Give it a rest.

re: Cats | 7:59 a.m. Aug. 20, 2008

>>I feel really sorry for all you Professional Mormon Haters. It must be a real burden to have to be so full of hate and sarcasm all the time. <<

Actually, Sarcasm is my raison d'etre and my modus operandi. No hate here just a profound sense of amazement at the mindset of some of the true believers.

James:

I'm sorry you feel that way. You must have a lot of disdain for the church. I'm sure it weighs you down.

Tough way to live, man.

President Hinckley have a funny remark or some witty one liners whether giving a talk or on Larry King?

Really Bert? I've never actually seen a crow in Utah. I've heard about them, though.

Yep, I agree with Jill- Joseph Smith jr. was a wonderful prankster, and I can see that he really did a humorous number on all of you.... VERY HUMOROUS!

Unfortunately, sometimes leaders use humor to evade tough questions and issues that the Church has been wrong about, or to cover embarassing parts of Church history. That is the coward's use of humor.

For an article about humor there certainly is a great deal of bitterness in here. Teddy, James, Wison K J, I'll make you a deal. I promise not to make jokes at your expense after I've gone to my reward; IF you'll stop cracking wise about me, now. That way, we'll both be in less trouble!

I have listened to Church Leaders tell worn-out, lame, old jokes that "brought the house down." The people only laughed at them because the person telling the joke is a Church Leader. Laughing at a person's joke is a form of ingratiation. Church Leaders tell lame jokes and their duped followers laugh at them as a sign of ingratiation, hero-worship, and fanaticism.

Isn't that amazing? LDS leaders using humor! That must be inspired. No other leaders use humor. We never hear of political leaders using humor. We never hear of corporate leaders using humor.

It just keeps amazing me that LDS Leaders are so innovative and inspired to do things that nobody else has ever thought of! Using humor! Who would have guessed to try that?! They MUST be inspired of God to have come up with that one!

Joseph, I'll make you the same deal I offered the other bittermen. I suppose you find nothing and no one funny? I know it's not your fault you can't see the humor in those "worn-out, lame, old jokes"; you can't seem to recognize the truth either.

If there's no laughing in Heaven, I wouldn't want to go. But I'll bet you there is. You see, laughter is an expression of joy and recognition of the unexpected, and I think you'll find both if you get there. I'll be happy to pay off my bet if I'm wrong.

Anyone like to comment on the humor of Paul Dunn? His humor was considered to be excellent and inspiring.

I guess humor does not always equal truth!

To My, My,

There is a huge difference between humor and being pathetically lame.

You are the latter.

I hate it when ward members will all break into a phony laugh session, when someone has said something that wasn't funny whatsoever.

Last week my great uncle passed away and his funeral was on Monday. He was a retired English professor from BYU and he taught some of the most difficult subjects imaginable. What I did not know, was that Elder Jeffrey Holland was one of his students and he spoke at his funeral for just a few minutes. My great uncle was an absolute crack up and Elder Holland related a couple of stories about the way he taught that absolutely brought the house down. We are sad that our uncle is gone, but his funeral was absolutely wonderful, because we were reminded of what a great sense of humor he had. It is totally appropriate to have a sense of humor and use it from time to time to lighten someone else's load.

Humor can often stray into frivolity and mocking of things sacred. That is why Jesus never used humor. There is no instance in the scriptures in which humor was employed.

If a sense of humor is a gift of the spirit for LDS Church leaders, the spirit has been re-gifting the worst stuff! There is nothing original about the humor Church leaders use. They are infamous for plagiarizing the quotes and humor of others before them who are not part of the Church.

I remember one of the Prophets' quote about life being like an old railway journey. Everybody in the Church thought it was such an original, wonderful, inspired little quote! But it was from a non-Mormon writer over 50 years ago!

Church leaders use recycled stuff from thinkers and writers outside the Church, then they preach to Church members to read only Church publications so nobody will find out they are plagiarizing and getting their ideas and materials from non-Mormons rather than from "revelation" or inspiration!

Clever.