Best-Loved Humor of the LDS People Edited by Jack M. Lyon, Jay A. Parry, Linda Ririe Gundry Deseret Book, 1999. Hardcover: 297 pages. ISBN: 1-57345-396-X Suggested retail price: $23.95 (US)
Reviewed by: Edgar C. Snow

Curiouser & Curiouser: Mormon Musings

Mormon humor, believe it or not, was the topic of an Associated Press article appearing in the The New York Times, July 9, 1999, titled: "Mormon Humor? Get Serious." This article featured interviews with Elouise Bell and Robert Kirby, the reigning queen and crown prince of Mormon humor practitioners (just as in Elizabethan and Victorian England, there is no king yet -- if anything, I consider myself the janitor). It also featured the then newly-released Deseret Book title in its "Best-Loved" series, The Best-Loved Humor of the LDS People.

The teaser for this AP article was, of course, the apparently ridiculous assertion that Mormon humor even exists. It's like saying that there's such thing as an Amish mafia (wait, there was an Amish drug ring busted about a year ago, heard it on NPR: "Brother, wouldst thou partake of a nickle bag?").

In my own elder's quorum about a year ago we also discussed whether Mormons had no sense of humor and took themselves too seriously, especially considering some of the pronouncements in the D&C about loud laughter and such. The prospect that Mormons didn't have a sense of humor wasn't very amusing to us. We pondered the question deeply; several members of the quorum even flipped desperately through the Topical Guide and Bible Dictionary for answers but were found wanting. And since no one had a copy of McConkie's Mormon Doctrine, we were left for the moment with a stupor of thought. Then intelligence (whether pure or not I leave to you) stroked my mind and I then asked the following questions:

• When was the last time anyone had a really good belly laugh during a Catholic Mass?
• Are Buddhist or Muslim jokes funnier than Mormon jokes?
• Have you ever seen a copy of a text titled: The Best-Loved Humor of the Jehovah's Witnesses?
• How frequently would you chuckle at the droll wit of a Baptist minister while he's literally trying to scare the hell out of you at a revival?
• Do Pentecostalists ever crackwise in tongues?
• How many amusing anecdotes are shared during a typical Quaker meeting, even if someone speaks?

I'm sure my defensive questions would have given us more comfort had it not been for the weakness evident in some of our religious competitors (okay, okay -- Catholics and Jews do have a well-developed humor tradition). With a collective sigh, we returned to the topic of the lesson.

And then along came The Best-Loved Humor of the LDS People, the subject of this book review. In its favor, it should be noted, I guess, that it carries the currently theologically correct name "LDS People" rather than "the Mormons." Yet in the argument to prove the existence of Mormon humor to a hostile world, this book might be necessary, but it is not sufficient. It's not that Best-Loved Humor isn't funny; some parts are tolerably amusing. But the collection is arranged for the convenience of someone researching a talk or lesson in church, and, as a result, doesn't really lend itself to the enjoyment of gratuitous humor at your leisure. It's similar to taping "The Late Show" with David Letterman and watching it the day afterward in the bright sunshine while eating breakfast -- it's just not as funny as when you're sitting semi- conscious in the dark, which, actually, may be the best way to read this book. I recommend on the dust jacket for the second printing that it carry the label: "WARNING: Do not read while operating heavy machinery."

Best-Loved Humor, at best, should be viewed as a correlated topical guide to Ensign-worthy humorous jokes and anecdotes. The more I think about it, in fact -- and I'm not accusing anyone of plagiarism -- this book looks suspiciously like a collection of amusing anecdotes and jokes that were edited out of William Bennett's The Book of Virtues.

The biggest problem with Best-Loved Humor is that some of the funniest parts have nothing to do with Mormonism in particular, weren't written by Mormons, and have likely never been quoted in any Mormon meeting (unless by the editors) before they were compiled into this book. Yet, to their credit, the editors of this book anticipated my cranky comments by suggesting in the introduction that any such passages in their book will eventually become best-loved by the Saints, presumably through the self-fulfilling prophecy marketing strategy of encouraging people to quote such passages in Mormon meetings until they become best-loved. In fact, in order to fulfill that prophecy, I even quoted the book last week in my gospel doctrine class -- people groaned, the ones who were awake, that is.

Finally, one last gripe about Best-Loved Humor: I secretly wish I had come up with the idea myself to write this book first. I give it two and a half golden plates (out of five).

Ed Snow