Entry one:

Zombie Porter Rockwell sniffed the air. The smell of singed hair slowly triggered the synapses in his decaying brain. He needed brains soon. But he had business to take care of first. He was on the trail of Cain, and this time, he was going to take the hairy wanderer out.

He jiggled the tank strapped to his chest. It sloshed reassuringly — still at least half full. His bulbous, unblinking eyes scanned the dessert. Cain had managed to survive P-Rock’s trap, but little did the large-footed fellow know that fire, which was his only weakness, was now portable. Zombie Porter sniffed the air again and fell into a jerky, but surprisingly fast lope. It was bbq time and [MORE]

Entry two:

The rain always made her sad. It reminded her of her grandmother. It also reminded her of her dead husband. And that cat she had had for two weeks in seventh grade. The rain was coming down in sheets now. It made her feel like the world was crying. She was crying too. But even though she was crying, she knew that she was not alone. The footprints in the sand were not hers. The battered violin that was her soul could still produce a beautiful tune in the master’s hands. So she decided to cheer herself up by firing up her Provo Craft cricut and breaking out her brand new six-inch by 13-inch Cuttlebug Cutting Mats. [MORE]

Entry three:

Truth was a complex, ever-evolving thing for an educated man like Walter C. Habermavinaseiggeridastraullard. Nuance was his watchword. Context his Title of Liberty. Which was why he spent so much time commenting on blogs.

Walter loved his fellow Saints with a pure love, but he also knew that too many of them were in danger of having their simplistic testimonies fall to pieces at the slightest breeze of opposition, the tiniest crack in the correlated shell. In short, they were in need of maturation, and it was up to him to be the sunshine, the water and the soil — not to mention also taking the role of the fertilizer, the pruner and the grafter. [MORE]

(Obviously these aren’t really my entries. Revealing the real ones would be against the rules. Also: you have two weeks to polish up your entries and get them in.)

Every month I also plan on setting little spotlights on little news items and tidbits about Mormon Drama along with the monthly Scripting Mormon Drama spot. So here goes our first crop of notables for the month of January:

- The Book of Mormon Musical… by the creators of South Park!

Some of us who have had the misfortune of seeing one of Trey Parker’s and Matt Stone’s strangely malicious AND strangely affectionate lampoons about Latter-day Saint religion, history, and culture on their  irreverent and crude show South Park . At least the tongue in cheek South Park segment about the people in hell being told, “The correct answer was… the Mormons,” has some healthy appreciation among Mormons and is often quoted with nervous laughter. There is also a relatively positive spin on Mormon family life and FHE in one episode, but their distorted and erroneous version of Mormon history shows Martin Harris as a duped idiot, with Lucy Harris being the smart one (of course neglecting to mention that Martin Harris and the three witnesses report to seeing the plates and an angel) and showing Joseph Smith as a charlatan offends Mormon sensibilities, making us all seem as much of stupid dupes  as their version of Martin Harris. And don’t get me started on their “Super Friends” spoof of creating a super hero team out of major religious figures, including Joseph Smith, Jesus, and Mohammed (at least we’re not the only ones in their cross hairs).  Parker and Stone were also the creators of the purportedly filthy film  Orgasmo, about an LDS missionary who becomes a porn star to pay for his mission (uh… what?!). So for some of us, the news about Parker and Stone making a Broadway musical about Mormons came with a certain amount of dread and morbid curiosity.

I’ve had my high school students authoritatively quote these twisted, offensive segments to me as if they were true, penetrating exposes on Mormonism,  so I’m a little afraid of where these two creators’ morbid fascination with our religion is going to take them this time and how it will again capitalize on us for a few cheap laughs and some dirty jabs. Of course, they’ll do it while stating it with enough of a smile and sense of pretended understanding that will illicit comments like this from Vogue Magazine:

“It is, hands down, the filthiest, most offensive, and—surprise—sweetest thing you’ll see on Broadway this year, and quite possibly the funniest musical ever.”

Here’s a couple of news items about the upcoming show (which begins Feb. 24th), including a filmed interview with Trey and Parker with the New York Post:

http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/popwrap/from_south_park_to_broadway_okelmt8N33qQOG1MvR15QK

http://www.playbill.com/playblog/2011/01/the-book-of-mormon-promo-video/

The premise of the musical:  two Mormon missionaries serving in Africa, seems benign enough until it’s revealed that one of them is a closet homosexual (of course pairing Mormons with this divisive issue hasn’t been done before! Here we go again…) and until you realize that nothing by these two satirists is ever benign.

New Play Project’s Two Upcoming Plays: He and She Fighting, A Love Story and WWJD

On a happier note, New Play Project continues its commitment to producing new Mormon Drama, with upcoming plays by Eric Samuelsen and Anna Christina Kohler Lewis.

He and She Fighting: A Love Story, written by Eric Samuelsen and directed by Davey Morrison, is first up to bat, being presented at the Provo Theater (105 East, 100 North, Provo, UT) from February 10-February 21 at 7:30 pm. A segment of this play (”The Exact Total Opposite”) was included in NPP’s recent anthology: Out of the Mount: 19 From New Play Project. The blurb advertising the event bills the play as, “Boy meets girl. Boy dates girl. Boy argues endlessly with girl. A painfully funny (and sometimes just painful) look at one couple’s relationship as chronicled by the times they hate each other most, playwright Eric Samuelsen’s new full-length comedy is the perfect way to celebrate Valentine’s Day OR Singles Awareness Day. Either way, you won’t want to miss it.”

Soon after that (the first two weeks of April),  Anna Christina Kohler Lewis’s WWJD will be performed by NPP, again at the Provo Theatre. I just finished reading the posted script this morning and, after some initial trepidition about the premise (a skateboarding Jesus visits and subtly helps a bunch of college room mates, while remaining involved in their day to day activities, including washing dishes, miniature golfing, dancing at a bar, among other atypical things for the Son of God to do). After the initial shock from the audacity of the script, I found myself warmed by Lewis’s down to earth Jesus (you know, the one who dined with sinners and consistently pushed against people’s preconceived notions). In her approach Lewis’s play is much more akin  to It’s a Wonderful Life than The Last Temptation of Christ.  If people can get past the initial prejudice against its anachronistic, populist Jesus, then I think people could be quite spiritually moved by this play (with the possibility of lots of nervous laughter, as it’s quite funny, too).  It will have to overcome several hurdles, though. The first, and probably most major, obstacle being getting enough people in Utah Valley who are comfortable with the premise enough to  want to buy tickets. However, although the premise seems brazen and possibly blasphemous, once you get to the end of the play, you discover quite the opposite. It’s practically old fashioned and, strangely, that fact plays as one of the script’s greatest strengths.

First, one from AML’s Nan McCulloch, who is one of my favorite theatre reviewers (and not just because she’s generally very supportive of my plays). Nan’s just one of the more insightful and intelligent theatre critics I’ve come across… and it doesn’t hurt that she always seems to “get” my plays. :] Here’s the link to her review on the AML discussion board:

http://www.forums.mormonletters.org/yaf_postsm1967_STEWART-Farewell-to-Eden.aspx#1967

Second, one from the Deseret News. For the record, although the reviewer Sharon Haddock thought the play lacked some “hope,” I would respectfully disagree. I just think the hope in the play is more subtle than she would have liked… perhaps she would have preferred a more wrapped up ending, so we’ll just have to disagree artistically. Otherwise, she was very complimentary. Here’s the link:

 http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705359376/Farewell-to-Eden-absorbing-but-bleak.html

  For those who are interested in seeing the closing performances, you can make reservations by sending an e-mail to zion.theatre.company@gmail.com , with your name, how many tickets you want, and for which performance you want. Performances start at 7:30 on evenings, and 2 pm for the matinee.

Books I wish I owned:

Byuck by our very own Theric, er, I mean, Eric Jepson. This is the best link I could conjure up for this quirky never-published novel about the fight to stay single while attending BYU. So sad it never made it into print. Maybe if we’re all really nice Theric will serialize it on his blog!

No Going Backwards by Jonathon Langdon. Gay Mormon teen. Need more? Then check out the website.

Slumming by Kristen D. Randle (To read my interview with Randle click here.) What I loved about this book was how uncompromisingly Mormon it was and how uncompromisingly national market it was. Okay. It wasn’t exactly Gossip Girl, but the fact that the book works in both worlds made me so happy.

Breaking Rank by Kristen D. Randle. This one had closet Mormons but the teenage protagonist’s decision making process was so true to teenage Mormons. I loved it.

Harvest: Contemporary Mormon Poems I had no idea how awesome Mormon poetry was until I bought this. It was truly the best forty-six cents I ever spent!

The Year My Son and I Were Born: A Story of Down Syndrome, Motherhood, and Self-Discovery by Kathryn Lynard Soper. If you know a Mormon mommy who loves memoirs and haven’t bought this book yet for her, then now is the time. Seriously beautiful book.

Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place by Terry Tempest Williams. I read this one for an ecobiography writing seminar and I was glad. TTW is a controversial and watershed figure not only in Mormon environmental writing but also in Mormon feminist writing and Mormonism as a culture and not just a religion. This book, part memoir and part ecology lesson, is a great place to start with her.

Long After Dark by Todd Robert Petersen. This book really pushed my litmus test, making me extremely uncomfortable in the process, but I felt like it was done artfully and purposefully and that made me glad. Read my interview with Todd Robert Petersen for more.

The Conversion of Jeff Williams by Douglas Thayer. This book about a California teen’s summer in the heartland of Mormonism is the novel that will shut the mouth of all the your Mormon fiction naysaying friends. Beautifully written, intensely thoughtful, this is one that demands repeat readings.

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George. For you readers who love teen fiction (it’s okay to admit it; I do too!) or just enjoy having a thought provoking book to read with your kids, this creative amalgam of Norse mythology and the Cupid/Psyche myth will delight. George is popular for her Dragon Slippers series and if you liked those you will LOVE this one.

The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull. I love tween literature that encourages questioning and viewpoint broadening without being all Lord of the Flies or One Fat Summer about it. By creating an old lady of dubious motivations who makes candies that give kids super powers Mull does a great job of entertaining and pushing kids to think about consequences without preaching or settling for easy answers. I’m still waiting for a ten year old to read this book so I can chat with them about it. Really well done.

Books that were worth the inter-library loan:

Benediction: a Book of Stories by Neal Chandler. (Not everyone loves this book. A lot of people find it offensive. But I thought it was such a great parody of some of the wilder small town personalities I grew up with. Read my original post here.)

The Only Alien on the Planet by Kristen D. Randle. (Basically a novelization of the old “Cipher in the Snow” story. Interesting!)

Secrets by Blaine M. Yorgason (Quintessential Deseret Book “issue” novel. Tackles an important subject but tends to gloss over the difficulties.)

People of Paradox: A History of Mormon Culture by Terryl L. Givens (Probably the most important book for Mormon culture scholars and you should read it. But you might not tackle it more than once.)

A FUTURE FOR TOMORROW – Surviving Anorexia – My Spiritual Journey by Haley Hatch Freeman (Read my original review here. I also believe that this book should not be read without also reading Michael Greenberg’s Hurry Down Sunshine–just to give some context the psychotic break of it all.)

Books that are worth reading if someone hands it to you:

Circle Dance by Sharlee Mullins Glenn

Hold On, the Light Will Come: And Other Lessons My Songs Have Taught Me by Michael McLean

Abinadi by Heather B. Moore (For more of my thoughts on this book read here.)

River Secrets (The Books of Bayern)River Secrets (The Books of Bayern, #3) by Shannon Hale

Longshot: The Adventures of a Deaf Fundamentalist Mormon Kid and His Journey to the NBA by Lance Allred (My original review.)

Austenland: A Novel by Shannon Hale

Dragon Flight (Dragon Adventures) by Jessica Day George

All this has got me wondering, what Mormon books did you read this year and what did you think? Any you enjoyed enough to shell out money for? I need recommendations for next year!

Twitter’s search functionality is kinda messed up (a bit ironic since the service just signed real-time search deals with both Bing and Google), but I was able to painstakingly grab most of the LDSfic1stlines that have been posted so far and have reproduced them below (not necessarily in chronological order). Here they are for your enjoyment — feel free to post your own in the comments or on Twitter (just make sure to use the hashtag so I’ll see them — or direct them to @motleyvision):

Wm: One fateful year, the Nielsens, as a show of solidarity with their Lutheran neighbors, gave up Jell-O for Lent.

Th: Porter Rockwell took a swig of his nonalcoholic whiskey and shyly waved at a lovely (yet modest) professional dancer.

Th: “Repentance is like soap!” LaVelle screamed at her husband. He removed the felt eraser & said, “Your mother’s right, kids.”

Chosha: Brent realised how far astray he’d gone when the Sacrament water suddenly resembled a tray of shots.

Wm: “I wish the Elder’s Quorum would stop assigning me home teaching companions who work for the CIA.”

Th: Call me LaMar.

Wm: The most difficult persons to haunt are: rock stars, actuaries, first grade school teachers and Mormon bishops.

Th: Janet felt the Spirit the first time she ever saw Jim, sitting up there being a lifeguard, glistening in sweat.

Wm: “AlooooooooooooooHa!” chorused the characters to the hip novelist. “Now leave us alone.”

Th: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was time for Primary.

Th: “I’d like to welcome you all out today,” said the novelist to his characters in an attempt to be hip and cool and postmodern

Wm: The day my goth sister turned in her mission papers was the saddest day of my life.

Wm: ….And that was how Sister Rasmussen learned that a Glock does sometimes jam on the ninth round.

Instead of becoming a “lesbian stripper,” Elna experienced life in New York City, dating both members and non-members, working in a variety of low-paying and short-term jobs. She also collected a lot of stories–humorous stories that examine the intersection between identity, faith, sex and love in a context of Mormon values in a cosmopolitan city.

What Page Six doesn’t indicate is anything about Elna Baker’s success. She has read and performed her stories on The Moth (podcast), on This American Life, and Studio 360 (NPR programs), and at the Upright Citizens Brigade, The PIT, The Magnet and at many other comedy clubs throughout New York City. Now, a collection of her humorous stories, The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance, will be published by Penguin in October.

Baker’s work is interesting because it is aimed at a non-LDS audience, yet is often informed by Mormonism. But her portrayal of Mormonism (at least in what I’ve seen) is more ‘look at these strange things in our culture.’ As this latest work is released, I’m not sure that it will gain Mormonism respect, but I do think that Elna Baker will gain more respect from her work.

[Several of Elna Baker's stories can be found on her website, ElnaBaker.com.

I love the form; I’ve always have a, always had a love/hate relationship with comics: I love the form, but some of the content are not to my liking.

Yeah, I’ve read you’re not a big superhero fan.

No, I’m not. I’ve done a lot of superheroes, but basically I’d rather have more uh, less fantastic stories.I  read — I read also that you, um, prefer war stories over other types because of the Cuban Revolution? Would you agree with that?

Well, not really, what I said is I prefer war stories because having been raised in the 1930s in Cuba and having seen a lot of fighting, a lot of terrorism around me. The first memory of my life was my house being surrounded by a mob —

Oh dear.

— and shot to pieces by a mob.

Mmhmm.

When I think of war stories, of the children, I think of the grownups going through all that horror and it is very real to me; and superheroes flying in the air are not very real to me, frankly.

I can understand that.

Yes. So, you know, and, uh, also, during my teens, that was the time of World War Two, and the movies and the newsreels and the air just sizzled with the idea of winning the war against the Nazis.

Mmhmm.

And so so that’s very much in my consciousness. And the two kinds of stories that I like are either war stories where you see an ordinary person become a hero —

Mmhmm.

— or stories of uh human relations.

Last time, Ric Estrada told us that his work, though not strictly “Mormon” in content, contained “a certain amount of compassion and a certain amount of . . . spirituality.” And he found that, generally, such were easier to do within the confines of real life, than, say, when inventing Power Girl.

Unfortunately for Brother Estrada, this past century has been a century dominated by superheros. If the (admittedly incomplete) list of comic credits at the Comic Book Database is correct, his output was roughly two superhero stories to every more realistic outing. Of course, that ignores comics work like the New Testament Stories he did for the Church and his editorial cartoons and book illustrations (which a quick Google Book Search reveal to be quite literally voluminous), to say nothing of his journalism and prose fiction. His heart was always grounded in the real.

But real in content. His style has never approached the photorealistic, nor did he wish it too. In a 1996 essay I’ve not been able to track down (but which is quoted extensively here), Estrada said, “My so-called ‘lyricism’ stems from my approach to drawing as flat design rather than as three-dimensional bulk.”

Don Mangus, the author of the essay I lifted that quotation from, says that “perhaps because of [his] extensive fine arts training . . . Estrada continued experimenting and questing for personal and artistic growth” — all the while maintaining his distinctive cartoony style.

As Estrada told me, “Of course I have several styles: the comic-book style, the goofy style for books, the advertising style for advertising . . . .”

Below appear three examples of his work courtesy of blogger Daniel Best who owns this original art. All three are superhero-free, stories that take place in the real world, but all three are quite different as well. Behold:

This is the closest of the three to superheros. No questions that these helmeted musclemen will be superheroesque in their capacity for violence. But no flying, no running near the speed of light. This is violence that reflects reality. To lift another Estrada quotation from Mangus (this one originates from the essay “War, You Said?”), “I grew up in Havana in the 1930s, amid terrorist bombs, shells shrieking overhead and rifle fire cracking in the streets. My first memories are of bullets biting into the walls of my home and houses burning in the night. Memories of fear and imminent death, of men’s hatred and children’s dread.” Which does not sound that far removed from hordes of maurauding Mongols sweeping down from the steppe to leave death and destruction in their path.

I’m a little nervous to psychoanlyze myself, but this is, no question, my favorite Estrada drawing yet. Their hair hasn’t aged well, but two beautiful people in pain surrounded by some of the cutest pigeons ever put on paper — what’s not to like?

Yes. That is Weclome Back, Kotter. If you’re about ten years older than me, this was your favorite show and you may even have this comic in a box in your mother’s garage.

Ric Estrada’s oeuvre represents, more than anything, two things:

1. His need and love for the act of creation.
2. His willingness to take any job to support his family, even Batman.

This intersection between art and family will be the subject of the next portion of this series. But while I’m finishing it, that might provide a good point for discussion: For the professional artist, working to feed the family, which sort of jobs should be accepted? Which lines that the artist draws are reasonable? Which are moral? Which are artistically unacceptable? Which are merely petty snobbery? When your passion is also your day job, how do you know when you’re doing which?

Well?

Although not as strong as its predecessors Stones or Dial Tones, yet Every Day a Little Death , still shows why Bronson is still a vibrant and powerful voice in the Mormon Theatrical Community. Intimate vignettes from the lives of a couple who we follow throughout the play (labeled simply “Him” and “Her”), the play is a thoughtful, philosophical meditation on the little… and big… ways we confront death in our day to day lives. 

Despite the gravitas of the subject matter, Bronson sets up the scenes to be seem to be about “nothing important.” By that I mean that they’re the day to day conversations we have in the car, at the movie theater, on an odd first date, or in the bathroom. Some of them lead up to or follow something “important,” such as a miscarriage or a funeral or  a proposal. Seemingly, however, most of the moments don’t seem to be all that important. But, as Bronson notes in the program: “That’s only true if you believe really important things occur only in conjunction with big events…. I believe that the truly important moments of life are hidden in the mundane.”

Although this focus on mundane moments was generally a strength in the play, it did create a couple of points of weakness, where the stakes and drama of the piece limped on for several moments (despite the excellent acting throughout the piece) before it gained speed again. But, for the most part, the intimacy this approach took was worth the few weak moments.

 There were two scenes within the play that rose above the general excellence of the others and became simply riveting in their effectiveness. One dealt with the after effects of a miscarriage early within a pregnancy of the woman, and the man comforting her (sometimes ineffectively) in the wee hours of the morning. The emotional immediacy and vulnerability in this scene was powerful.  The second happened when the man and woman start talking in a boring movie (where they are the only ones there) about the possibility of re-marriage, if one of them should die. This scene reminded me of actual conversations I’ve had with my own wife.

Before I continue, I can’t praise both actors in the play (Fallon Hanson and Elwon Bakly) enough. Even if the writing hadn’t been as good as it is, the play would have been worth seeing just to see these two in action. They were paired together in Bronson’s previous romantic dramedy Dial Tones , and continue to create a great chemistry in Every Day a Little Death just as they had in their previous pairing. I’m starting to see them as the Mormon Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Hanson was especially effective in this production, reaching deep into a powerful mix of emotional vulnerability and sly wit. Having worked with Fallon before in my own plays, and considering her a good friend, I was disappointed to hear that this may be her swan song in Utah, as she plans to move to California. So this may be the last chance to see the final Utah-based performance from Hanson for quite some time. If you live in Utah, make use of this chance, as I put Hanson on the short list of the finest actresses I have had a chance to see perform live in the area. Bakly also puts in a wonderful performance, as always. He is a Bronson regular, having performed as Christ and Isacc in every production of Stones , as well as opposite Hanson in Dial Tones . Always putting in a solid performance, he is one of the finest actors performing in the area.

The directing was also excellent. Once again, Bronson makes magic with what very little is provided for him at the CoveCenter’s  Brinton Black Box… which is really not much more than a big room with stage lights and chairs (I must say, though, that the Covey Center should find a way to dampen the sound that streams into the blackbox from the performances in the large theater). But directors like Bronson and Kimberly Luke Mellon have made great use of the space, which is one of the reasons why the Covey should count their lucky stars to have Bronson managing that space.

One of the fun directorial additions to the play were the slide shows of “Him” and “Her” between each scene. With character, humor and a nice dash of sweetness, they added rather than detracted from the play. And it was a smart way to cover costume changes.

Although I don’t believe it lives up to Bronson’s previous work, Every Day a Little Death is a well wrought play, displaying many of Bronson’s wonderful, characteristic qualities. Bronson hovers close to the line of oversentimentality, without ever crossing it, which creates a genuine emotional experience in nearly all his work. Philosophically, Bronson doesn’t believe in subtext in his work– his themes can all be found in the dialogue, discussed freely and openly by his characters. Ironically, however, this is not a weakness, as he does display subtlety, restraint and naturalistic dialogue, which brings the philosophical nature of his characters into a very real and wise place. Bronson is one of the great playwrights of Mormonism and I try to take advantage of the chance to see his work whenever I can.

If you live in Utah Valley, or even Salt Lake Valley, take the advantage of seeing this beautiful piece of the small moments life– and death. The play is in its final week at the Covey Center, so be sure to get tickets for its final performances next Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Tickets can be purchased at http://www.coveycenter.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=47&s_id=179

Show Dates

• November 14th, 2008 @ 7:30pm
• November 15th, 2008 @ 2:30pm
• November 15th, 2008 @ 7:30pm

Tickets

For the most part, this doesn’t bother me. I guess I feel kind of bad sometimes when I laugh at stuff that’s mean or offensive, but I get over it. What does bother me a little more is when I laugh at things I think are sacred. Are there things we shouldn’t laugh at for moral reasons – and does actually laughing at such things then constitute a sinful state?

A few years ago, in reference to their Halestorm films, it was either Kurt Hale or John Moyer who said something like, “We don’t make jokes about the church. We make jokes about church culture. There’s nothing funny about the church.” I think that most members of the church would agree. And I doubt that Deseret Book will be publishing titles such as The Best of Robert Kirby or Collected Sugar Beet any time soon. Even at their most harmless, many members seem to believe in a separation of church and humor.

My question is why? Why can’t the church be funny? Why must there be a wall between the humorous and the sacred? In an attempt to show that a relationship can indeed exist between humor and the sacred, I’ll do my best to come up with all the arguments against the idea and take them on in turn.

The first, most common claim is that the sacred is being undermined when it is the object of humor – that we are failing to give proper respect when we laugh about a subject. Though we usually discuss the concept in terms of treating sacred things with proper reverence, I think the issue at stake is our own attitudes and not the actual subject itself. I don’t believe that there’s any property of sacred things themselves that causes a disturbance is the balance of the universe when they are laughed about. The problem with failing to reverence sacred things is the attitude that it reveals in us.

But does laughing at – or even mocking – a thing necessarily convey a sense of contempt for it? In most cases, I think the answer is yes. But I don’t think that it must be so. I believe it’s possible to mock a thing that one feels the utmost love and respect for. It’s just that it’s uncommon enough (and nearly impossible to judge in others) that we generally shun the idea of laughing at certain subjects simply because it gives the appearance of a lack of respect.

The other side of the problem of reverence is the pure physicality of laughter. When one is laughing – it would seem – one is not taking seriously the thing which is being laughed about. I think this is true for adolescents (and adolescent adults) but again, I don’t believe this is necessarily so. The problem is that it very easily becomes true. When we do begin laughing raucously, our mind stays paralyzed on the subject in question – and because we enjoy the sensation of laughter, we often dwell in the entertaining thought rather than allow our minds to press forward. In many circumstances, say Sacrament Meeting or a prayer, this failure to move on mentally does constitute a lack of respect for the situation.

Similarly, if we are in a light-hearted attitude wherein we are not taking our surroundings seriously, opportunities for laughter will come easily. I do think that indulging in such opportunities when in such an attitude also constitutes a lack of reverence. Once again though, I believe it’s still possible to find humor even in the midst of the most reverent attitude. The two aren’t mutually exclusive in nature, it just happens that they usually are in practice.

In summary, I think it fairly evident that reverence and respect are attitudes, not actions. And there is a high correlation between an attitude that is lacking in reverence and the action of laughing at sacred things. But correlation is not causation, of course. And thus the latter does not necessarily imply the former. I believe this offers us the possibility, at least, of laughing with a reverent heart.