Thursday, August 21, 2003

Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley

Tales of LDS leaders' wit a big draw at Ed Week

By Tad Walch
Deseret Morning News

PROVO — When LDS Church President David O. McKay died at age 96 in 1970, his obituary in the New York Times pointed out that he was being replaced by a youngster of just 93.

The comment was a jab at the image of sober elderly men in dark suits leading the church, an image belied by the humorous sides of many of those same church leaders, the subject of a presentation Wednesday at Education Week at Brigham Young University.
BYU church history professor Lawrence Flake said President McKay, who had a well-known penchant for driving fast, employed a joke about his age after a newspaper ran a story about a speeding ticket he got in Ogden.
In a letter to the editor, President McKay thanked the newspaper for printing the story.
"You've done me a great service," President McKay wrote. "You've dispelled the myth that I've begun to slow down."
This is the first time Flake, who has lectured at Education Week for 20 years, has tackled the subject of humor in the LDS Church. The turnout for Wednesday's session on the wit of church leaders overwhelmed a 400-seat lecture hall. Two additional overflow rooms were filled to capacity with another 150 people listening to an audio feed.
Flake included guidelines for the use of humor in church, seminary and institute classrooms, mostly obvious things like using good taste and avoiding vulgar language. He acknowledged, however, that avoiding swear words can be difficult when telling stories about J. Golden Kimball, a member of the Church's Quorum of the Seventy early in the 20th century.
The FCC once informed LDS Church President Heber J. Grant that it would pull the plug on radio broadcasts of the church's semi-annual General Conferences if Elder Kimball didn't cease raining down damns and hells from the pulpit.
Of course, Elder Kimball could laugh at himself, as have other Church leaders, Flake said.

"The model is the brethren when they speak in General Conference and stake conferences," he said. "Humor is not the tail wagging the dog but is used to illustrate lessons."
And when they poke fun at themselves, it can be charming and disarming.
Flake said humor comes naturally to current LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, whose talks are sprinkled with witticisms. In his Tuesday session, Flake told a story about joke made at President Hinckley's expense. President Hinckley and Elder David B. Haight, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, were having a friendly disagreement.
Elder Haight, who is 96, finally turned to President Hinckley, who is 93, and said, "That's OK, Gordon. I used to think like that when I was your age."
Flake's hourlong presentation was a flurry of stories.
Like the time an Englishman with a sash full of ribbons made unkind remarks about Utah and the LDS Church in front of Church President George Albert Smith. President Smith wore a tiny pin for the Sons of the American Revolution, and when the man asked what the small pin represented, President Smith reportedly said, "That represents when my great-grandfather whipped your great-grandfather."
And the time Elder LeGrand Richards told a bishop that a member of his congregation was needed to serve in another church position. When the bishop said he couldn't afford to lose the member, Elder Richards asked him what he'd do if the man died. When the bishop said the congregation would just have to get by without the man, Elder Richards said, "Consider him dead."
The flood of stories were just what Allan Noble hoped he'd get from the lecture. Noble teaches institute LDS religion courses for college students — in Maricopa, Ariz.
"Humor is like the spoonful of sugar," Noble said. "Classes are a lot more fun if you can use appropriate humor. I love to do it, but if you do that you need stories."
Flake finished with his favorite story, about the first time he met President Spencer W. Kimball. President Kimball strongly encouraged men to marry by the age of 25.
When he learned Flake was about that age and unwed, he gave him a stern lecture, then asked, "Why aren't you married?"
Flake tried to deflect the lesson by smiling and saying, "No one will have me."
President Kimball wasn't amused. "There are 10,000 girls in the church who would marry you."
"But, president, I only want one," Flake joked.
Flake went further, asking President Kimball if he could use him as a reference.
"Brother Flake," President Kimball said, "you can use my car."