Mormon Folklore

Through the discussion on the previous post on Mormon humor, we saw the role that incongruity plays – we laugh because something is different than we expect it to be – what “should be” is not consistent with what “is.”

The superiority theory in humor takes incongruity and raises the stakes. It says that through the incongruity, we laugh because we feel superior (what “should be”) to the person involved in the humorous event (what “is”.)

Plato expressed this idea in the Republic. He argued that humor should be removed from sacred stories. Plato’s logic was that if children were amused by the gods, they would feel superior to them and would therefore lose respect for sacred things.

The English philosopher Thomas Hobbes in his 1651 Leviathan defined the act of laughter as a direct result of the sudden euphoria that arises from the sudden realization of a sudden eminence in comparison to others. In other words, if you see someone do something stupid, you laugh because you realize that what they have done is beneath you (or perhaps you laugh as a way to create a sense of superiority because you are glad it wasn’t you).

Do you see this idea of superiority in Mormon humor today? How does this play in to our sense of what should, or should not, be an appropriate thing to joke about? Which of the jokes below play on incongruities? Which could be explained using superiority theory? To which jokes does it not apply?

A man dies and goes to heaven. He is met by St. Peter, who welcomes him. St. Peter then gives the man an enormous piece of chalk, saying, “Take this chalk, and climb that ladder until you get to a clear space on that chalkboard.” He pointed to a chalkboard that stretched past the clouds, and into space. “You must then write every single sin you have ever committed. When you are done, I will let you into Heaven.” So, the man started to climb the ladder, thinking, “This shouldn’t be too hard. After all, I won’t even use half this much chalk.” On his way up, he met his bishop coming down. The man smiled, and asked, “Are you done writing?” To which the bishop replied, “No! I’m going down to get more chalk.”

In a very narrow alley, two Mormon missionaries confronted two Catholic priests. Unable to move, and toe to toe, one of the priests stated, “We do not yield to preachers of a false religion!” The two missionaries looked at each other, then turned their backs to the alley wall and said, “We do!”

A man sat at a bar and had done so for several weeks. The bartender asked why he drank alone. The man said that when he was in Vietnam, he had two close friends and they entered into a pact to meet every Friday at this bar and have a drink together. But his two friends didn’t come home, so he was drinking for them at the appointed time. One day he came and drank two drinks and left. The curious bartender asked why he now only drank two instead of three drinks. “I joined the Mormon Church last week and now I can’t drink liquor.”

It was my habit to invite missionaries in our area to our home often for dinner and homemade ice cream. Missionaries are, of course, good role models for the children. My identical twin brother and his family, living in a city some 130 miles away, had the same habit. When an elder new to our area spotted me at church with my family, he appeared at first puzzled and asked, “What are you doing up in this area, Brother Andrew?” I sensed directly that he’d just had a transfer from the city where my twin lived. I took him aside and whispered, “Please, Elder Jones, don’t breathe a word about this to anyone. It’s merely an honest return to that old time religion; you know: like at the beginning with Brother Brigham and the others. I just haven’t told my wives about one another yet.” He seemed not to understand the joke and I forgot about the incident until his companion approached me the following week and said, “You’ve got to come clean about this, Brother Andrew. Elder Jones is ready to ship home.”

Q: Why did the Lamanites have bruised knees?
A: Because of the Nephites.

A redheaded Norwegian woman came to the door, saw two missionaries and asked if Mormons have horns. One missionary replied, “Yeah, as a matter of fact I just had mine clipped in Salt Lake just before I came here.” And she says, “Really?” and he says, “Yeah, you can feel the little bumps right here in my forehead.” And so she put her hand on his forehead, “Well, I don’t feel anything.” And he said, “Not even a little bit silly?”

Butt-prints In The Sand

One night I had a wondrous dream.
One set of footprints there was seen.
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the shore.

And then the strangest print appeared.
I asked the Lord,” What have we here?”
This print is large and round and neat.
“But Lord, it’s much too big for feet.”

“My child,” He said in somber tones,
“For miles I carried you alone.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and gained no strength.”

“You laid quite still. You would not grow,
This walk is not for me, you know.
So I got tired. I got fed up.
And there I dropped you on your butt.”

“Because in life, there comes a time,
When one must fight, and one must climb,
and one must rise and take a stand;
Or leave his butt-prints in the sand.”