The Power of Laughter

I was listening to a lecture series on the Life and Work of Mark Twain and came across this passage in The Mysterious Stranger. It is part of a speech given by Satan to the story's main character.

You have a mongrel perception of humor, nothing more; a multitude of you possess that. This multitude see the comic side of a thousand low-grade and trivial things--broad incongruities, mainly; grotesqueries, absurdities, evokers of the horse-laugh. The ten thousand high-grade comicalities which exist in the world are sealed from their dull vision. Will a day come when the race will detect the funniness of these juvenilities and laugh at them--and by laughing at them destroy them? For your race, in its poverty, has unquestionably one really effective weapon--laughter. Power, money, persuasion, supplication, persecution --these can lift at a colossal humbug--push it a little--weaken it a little, century by century; but only laughter can blow it to rags and atoms at a blast. Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand. You are always fussing and fighting with your other weapons. Do you ever use that one? No; you leave it lying rusting. As a race, do you ever use it at all? No; you lack sense and the courage.
Mark Twain (emphasis added)

The duality of this passage struck me immediately. Laughter is extremely powerful. It can take an event like serious illness or death and turn it into something powerless. It can break the ice in an awkward situation, and remove tensions between foes. Its power for good is tremendous.

But so also is its power for ill. It can be used to ridicule, demean, debase, and profane. And if everything is funny what do we have to hold on to and take seriously?

We need to be very careful how we wield this weapon of ours. We should make certain that the "colossal humbugs" that we are destroying are ones that should be destroyed.

With great power comes great responsibility.
Voltaire

Source: Life and Work of Mark Twain

Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God

 17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 

 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. 

 19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. 

 20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. 

 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. 

 22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
(Mark 10:17-22)

There are several things I find interesting about this story. First, when the young man asked Jesus what he must do, the answer was not, "Just believe." The young man needed to keep the commandments. When the young man replied that he had been doing his best to keep the commandments, it says that Jesus "loved him." I believe this implies that the young man was not being prideful, but was stating a fact. The Savior then asked him if he was willing to give up his possessions in order to obtain eternal life.

First, the Savior expected Obedience. Second, He required Sacrifice.

 22 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
(1 Sam 15:22)

Both are important. But once we are moderately obedient, I believe that the Lord will begin to test (or develop) our ability to sacrifice.

The Lord still expects us to obey the Law of Sacrifice. Instead of sacrificing animals he expects us to sacrifice our will.

 8 Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
(D&C 59:8)

I think each of us has things we hold on to that we should let go of. I have heard some people refer to them as our "favorite sins." We probably consider them "minor" sins that we hope God will overlook or we expect that He will automatically forgive us of. To a certain extent I think those assumptions are true. I believe that God will overlook a lot of our mistakes and weaknesses as part of His Grace. However, I think there are additional blessings that we leave unclaimed by holding a part of ourselves back.

The rich young man valued his money more than he valued his discipleship. I think that is a common problem for individuals, particularly in Western countries like the U.S. Our world-view has us focused on things like being self-sufficient and hard-working. They are not bad by themselves, but are sometimes taken to an unhealthy extreme. A person who will not take time off work to help with a service project, for example, may have their priorities out of whack.

 41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. 

 42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. 

 43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: 

 44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
(Mark 12:41-44)

A balance must be struck somewhere. I do not think, in general, that the Lord expects us to immediately sell all of our possessions and give it all away. More likely, the sacrifices we will be expected to make include things like serving in the Primary, serving as a scout leader, allowing the youth to use our boat for an activity, or using up vacation time to go to Girls' Camp.

So where is the correct balance that the Lord expects in terms of wealth? I do not know, but my guess is that it is more on the Sacrifice side of things. But each person and family must determine for themselves where that balance is and strive to achieve it. And as we sacrifice more and more, I believe that we will find that the balance is even further than we thought.

Here are a few statements that I have found inspirational when deciding how much to sacrifice.

I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. ... If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, ... they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (1952), p. 67

I am a firm believer that you cannot give to the Church and to the building up of the kingdom of God and be any poorer financially. ... If the members of the Church would double their fast-offering contributions, the spirituality in the Church would double. We need to keep that in mind and be liberal in our contributions.
Marion G. Romney

A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation.
Joseph Smith, Lectures on Faith 6:7

 If we are more generous with our time, talents, and possessions, the Lord will bless us. Our faith will be strengthened by our sacrifice and we will be happier in the long run with the results of our choices than we would have been with the thing that we have given up.

 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
(Matt 6:33)