In one of our temple covenants, we are told to avoid “all lightmindedness” and “loud laughter.” Why? What is the harm in either? “All lightmindness” is an odd prohibition. Why not “Some lightmindness”?
Pres. Hinckley was known for his humor, often causing loud laughter in the Tabernacle. Was this wrong? Why or why not?
The covenant also includes “evil speaking of the Lord’s anointed”, “The taking of Lord’s name in vain”, and “every other impure and unholy practice.”
Is loud laughter impure, akin to taking the Lord’s name in vain? Is lightmindedness an unholy practice? Because neither seem remotely similar to evil speaking of the Lord’s anointed, or taking God’s name in vain. This one has ALWAYS caused me to scratch my head, and I’m unclear why we covenant to avoid either lightmindedness or loud laughter. The next two make sense, but not the first two. I get that we should avoid impure and unholy practices, but if “men are that they might have joy”, does that mean we can’t laugh and make light of anything? I get that evil speaking and taking Lord’s name in vain are unholy and impure, but loud laughter and lightmindness? These 2 prohibitions seem out of place with the others.
They don’t say “avoid lightmindness with church leaders” and “don’t laugh loud in church”. It is simply avoid “all lightmindness, loud laughter, evil speaking…., taking Lord’s name in vain, and every other unholy….” I don’t get it. Wasn’t Joseph Smith often accused of not taking things seriously enough? Was he breaking this covenant?
Or is this something we wisely ignore because it makes no logical sense?
I’ve always read that as light mindedness about holy things and mocking laughter.
My uneducated opinion is that Joseph Smith seemed to think this was a negative character trait of his (doesn’t he say as much in JSH?), probably a product of the religious thinking at the time — maybe from Puritan influence? So he threw it in there. I’m curious to hear other explanations.
Should the wording be changed to reflect Stephen’s understanding? It makes sense, but that’s not what the covenant says.
I’m with Stephen: absent further clarification, I’ve interpreted “lightmindedness” as mockery or disrespect, and “loud laughter” as the sort of intemperate, out-of-control cackling commonly engaged in by toddlers and drunk adults.
Sobriety is a defining trait of LDS culture. We avoid extremes of worship and expression, neither high Catholic ritual, nor loud praise singing in the Pentecostal style. There is humor in LDS culture, but it is a mild, inoffensive humor, neither sarcastic nor ironic (unless you count the mild sarcasm General Authorities direct at “so-called” worldly “values.”)
I agree with Stephen that “Loud laughter” is probably interpreted within the context of holy things, as for Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, all things were holy, all things being of a spiritual, not a temporal nature:
Joseph said: “Think not that we would enjoin you a Monkish sadness or hypocritical gravity: not so, but we would have your forsake all your loud laughter which is always indicative of an empty mind, and as we have before remarked, is calculated to grieve the Holy Spirit and make it withdraw, leaving you to the influence of that spirit which lures but to destroy.”
Brigham said: “Joking, nonsense, profane language, trifling conversation and loud laughter do not belong to us. Suppose the Angels were witnessing the hoe-down we had the other evening, and listening to the haw, haw’s, the other evening would they not be ashamed of it. I am ashamed of it. The revelations in the bible, in the book of Mormon, and doctrine and covenants teaches us to be sober. When I laugh I see my folly, and nothingness, and weakness, and am ashamed of myself.”
It’s funny, but as I was reading that quote by Brigham Young, the last line is:
“When I laugh I see my folly, and nothingness, and weakness, and am ashamed of myself.”
But I read it as:
“I laugh when I see my folly, and nothingness, and weakness, and I am no longer ashamed of myself” which is also a beautiful sentiment.
But I also understood BY to be a great fan of wholesome fun, in which was included folk dancing.
Having said that, there seem to be those who can do nothing other than to cackle at inanities, and if you spend much time in those circumstances it does seem rather pointless. By the same token, I’m inclined to think that most things that bring people together without real harm is a net positive, whether it’s for me or not.
“Or is this something we wisely ignore because it makes no logical sense?”
This.
I think most people rework the covenant to mean what they expect it to mean.
Which means that it means different things for different people; it means what I want it to mean or I derive its meaning by making it fit into my life experience.
Even the other part about speaking evil of the lord’s annointed is subject to interpretation. I think most people I know interpret that to mean church leadership in general. Does that mean the prophet? Apostles? Seventy? Stake president? Bishop? Beehive president? Counselor? Secretary? Any one that has been anointed in some ritual, healing or otherwise? Or is it limited to the Messiah, which literally translates to anointed? And why just evil speaking of the Lord’s anointed? What about evil speaking of your neighbor (assuming s/he isn’t the Lord’s anointed)?
Let’s not push for more specificity, though. I’d hate to covenant to “keep laughter volume at 6dB below the ambient noise level”. If the intent is to get you to think about your behavior, act thoughtfully and consider the ramifications of your actions, then specificity is not really the answer.
Other considerations:
Is it okay to use the term LOL? Do you have to make sure that everyone knows its not too loud?
A scientific study on laughter revealed:
– The much vaunted health benefits of laughter are probably coincidental, a consequence of it’s much more important primary goal: bringing people together. In fact, the health benefits of laughter may result from the social support it stimulates.
– Laughter plays a big role in mating. Men like women who laugh heartily in their presence.
– Both sexes laugh a lot, but females laugh more–126 percent more than their male counterparts. Men are more laugh-getters.
– The laughter of the female is the critical index of a healthy relationship.
(Source available upon request)
My guess is laughing and light mindedness too often leads to irreverent behavior, lack of respect, and too much of that mating stuff for it to be accepted in holy places.
But I have always taken council with a grain of salt. While I understand there is a line you cross that laughter can lead to those unholy things, avoiding “all” light mindedness or laughter is just suckling too much fun out of life.
I’d rather laugh with the sinners than die with the saints….perhaps some reason Christ sat to eat dinner with sinners.
Life is to be enjoyed. It is the object of our existence.
Laughter is critical in my life.
I take wise council, and apply it with wisdom…not word for word prohibitions, but the gist of the message.
There are two kinds of laughter: joyful and bonding, or cruel.
The D&C verses that talk about laughter clearly put it in the context of holy worship (88:121), Sunday worship (59:15), or excessive laughter (88:69).
You might check out two articles in BYU Studies:
“Lightmindedness versus Lightheartedness,” by Diana Mahony, which surveyed Mormons at different ages and different levels of Church experience, at https://byustudies.byu.edu/showtitle.aspx?title=6834
and “On Mormon Laughter” by Shawn Tucker: “Laughter that is cold, cynical, and belittling is a perversion of a God-given faculty that should delightfully lift and edify. A good sense of humor can build bonds and create joy.” https://byustudies.byu.edu/showtitle.aspx?title=9111
IDK if when I initially took out my endowments that I’d partaken of the “New and Everlasting Covenant of the Eternal BuzzKill”.
I always figured that the covenant meant something but that I had no idea what it was talking about. Because to generically ban all laughter when it is too loud based solely upon volume seems a bit of a ridiculous notion. I felt that instead of just believing certainly and glibly that it meant something particular without knowing what it actually meant (sorry guys, I don’t like to make things up about the gospel that I have no knowledge of, I feel it is inappropriate to do so. I feel it is better to seek for further light and knowledge through study, pondering, the holy ghost, and the guidance of living prophets.) I would therefore admit that I did not know and could only be expected to do my best. Therefore, in the pursuit of doing my best, I do not take the statement literally, and I tend to be with Stephen on this.
Because of my lack of understanding on this particular matter, I went so far as to ask an Elder’s Quorom president and a close trusted older friend what he thought about the matter. Both gave an answer very similar to Stephens. So far as I can discern, they are all correct.
So rather than just outright banning all laughter based upon volume, I choose instead to not join those in the “great and spacious building” making a mockery of things that are sacred, and never pointing belittling derision at those who are different than me, and certainly never at those who are trying their best to do the right thing.
After going through the temple for the first time, all I could think of was all the older men and women in my ward who laughed out loud all the time, who were obviously good, righteous people. I concluded that it must be one of those commandments that we don’t have to take seriously, like not eating meat in the summer.
Growing up we spent a lot of time laughing in my family. That strain of ____ sense of humour is still very much in evidence when my siblings and I get together, and with my parents. Also we’d spend part of Sunday afternoons reading humorous poetry and monologues to eachother. Sometimes we were laughing so hard we were nearly crying. Meal times would include the telling of jokes. We all still recall my youngest brother’s first joke with great affection. I don’t think this was a failing on their part, though my parents were and are absolutely devout and dedicated church members.
Politically we’re all over the spectrum as adults, but humour still binds us all together.
Loud sounds can damage your ears, possibly permanently. I always took this commandment to be a prohibition on letting my ears be damaged by any loud sounds. Loud belching and farting are just as bad as loud laughter in my book.
I may have problems with that; I don’t know. I still view it as a commandment as coming from God so just do it and don’t complain which means, every once in a while I try. End of story.
Here’s an interesting comment on the background of “loud laughter” from a discussion a Keepapitchinin. The commenter is named Rolyat.
“34.Regarding the discussion about the meaning of “loud laughter,” I was recently reading the book “Two Years Before the Mast” which was published in 1840. In one section the author describes how the demeanor of a ship’s crew changes after a crew member dies at sea by saying “There is more quietness and seriousness. The oath and the loud laugh are gone.” I checked Google’s Ngram Viewer, and it shows that “the loud laugh” was a much more commonly used phrase in the 1770s and from 1820-1850 than it is now. I found several religious books from that time period that disapprove of “the loud laugh” along with other vices. These references may originate from a line written by the famous poet Oliver Goldsmith in “The Deserted Village” (1770) that refers to “the loud laugh that spoke the vacant mind.”
“So, in sum, in the 19th Century “the loud laugh” or “loud laughter” seems to have had been associated with vice and sin.”
http://www.keepapitchinin.org/2015/08/06/profaning-the-sacred/#comment-1492246
I enjoyed this article which explains it well:
https://www.lds.org/new-era/1974/08/a-serious-look-at-humor?lang=eng