Joseph'S Humor

[Jude2]

Joseph wrote of himself

….But I was guilty of levity, and sometimes associated with jovial company, etc., not consistent with that character which ought to be maintained by one who was called of God as I had been.

Are there any good examples of his levity?

I was reading once about how he sent some of the more gullible money diggers out to find a box of watches, that’s pretty funny.

[Jude2]

So no one else thinks Joseph had a sense of humor?

Jedediah M. Grant, JD vol 3, pg 66

“I am aware that a great many have so much piety in them, that they are like the Baptist priest who came to see Joseph Smith. Joseph had the discernment of spirits to read a man, and a peculiar faculty of using up the old sectarian tone to "my dee-e-er brethren." When he heard that good old tone he used to imitate it; and whenever one of the class, who are so filled with piety, and the good old tone, came to Nauvoo, Joseph used forthwith to take a course to evaporate their sanctimoniousness, a great deal of which consists in the long *** (donkey)-like tone.

(He)…..was introduced to the Prophet. In the meantime some person came up that brother Joseph would have a talk with, but while doing this he kept his eye upon the stranger, on this priest. After he got through chatting, the Baptist stood before him, and folding his arms said, "Is it possible that I now flash my optics upon a Prophet, upon a man who has conversed with my Savior?" "Yes," says the Prophet, "I don't know but you do; would not you like to wrestle with me?" That, you see, brought the priest right on to the thrashing floor, and he turned a summerset right straight. After he had whirled round a few times, like a duck shot in the head, he concluded that his piety had been awfully shocked, even to the centre, and went to the Prophet to learn why he had so shocked his piety. The Prophet commenced and showed him the follies of the world, and the absurdity of the long tone, and that he had a super-abundant stock of sanctimoniousness.”

[Deborah]

He had a great sense of humor, and many of the saints chided him for it, thinking a prophet should be stern and serious. One of my favorite stories from the Joseph Smith Papers was when Joseph would get letters from people criticizing him. Back then the receiver paid the postage. Joseph decided he would no longer pay for these letters from strangers, saying if they wanted to criticize him they could do it with their own money.

[Questing Beast]

I like the anecdote during the Missouri troubles, when Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon went up on a hill where some Mormon militia were standing guard. It was winter and there was snow and the militiamen were miserable and downcast. Joseph started to joke and play around and began to organize a snowball fight to raise their spirits. Sidney chided Joseph in front of the men and boys, and Joseph did the anti-sanctimonious routine right there on Rigdon, including throwing snowballs at him and knocking off his hat....

Edited January 25, 2013 by Questing Beast

[Tacenda]

I like the anecdote during the Missouri troubles, when Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon went up on a hill where some Mormon militia were standing guard. It was winter and there was snow and the militiamen were miserable and downcast. Joseph started to joke and play around and began to organized a snowball fight to raise their spirits. Sidney chided Joseph in front of the men and boys, and Joseph did the anti-sanctimonious routine right there on Rigdon, including throwing snowballs at him and knocking off his hat....

I love this and the other stories so far. Are there more like this and where can I find them? I wish we could put a face to them. I don't understand why no-one would not have taken a pic of him like others had gotten done. Edited January 24, 2013 by Tacenda

[bluebell]

I love this and the other stories so far. Are there more like this and where can I find them? I wish we could put a face to them. I don't understand why no-one would not have taken a pic of him like others had gotten done.

Photography was an infant in the late 1830s and early 1840s. In fact, one of the oldest photographs available to see today was from 1839 i think.

JS died in in 1844, in a frontier town no less. I don't think there were many opportunities for him to get his picture taken.

[cdowis]

As I remember the story--

One evening in Nauvoo, JS played the role of a drunkard, slurring "I am a most profitable profit" to play a joke on Daniel Wells.

Wells then went to BY (who was in on the joke)who said "Yes, we have have a real problem with him." Daniel then responded, "I would rather have a drunk prophet, than none at all." JS then appeared from a room and congratulated him on his faithfulness. It was a test.

FWIW. I have the opinion that BY's participation on these jokes was the impetus for the Adam-God doctrine, which was designed as a test for the saints. There is some anecdotal evidence for that view.

Edited January 24, 2013 by cdowis

[cdowis]

The brethren kept bothering him about the location of the ten lost tribes. Finally, one night he pointed to the North Star

[Jude2]

From his so called boasting speech;

“As Paul boasted, I have suffered more than Paul did. I should be like a fish out of water, if I were out of persecutions. Perhaps my brethren think it requires all this to keep me humble. The Lord has constituted me so curiously that I glory in persecution. I am not nearly so humble as if I were not persecuted. If oppression will make a wise man mad, much more a fool. If they want a beardless boy to whip all the world, I will get on the top of a mountain and crow like a rooster”

[Nevo]

Here are a few more:

• Q. "Do the Mormons baptize in the name of 'Joe' Smith?"
  A. "No, but if they did, it would be as valid as the baptism administered by the sectarian priests." (TPJS, p. 121)
  

• "I refer to the prophets to qualify my observations which I make, so that the young elders who know so much, may not rise up like a flock of hornets and sting me. I want to keep out of such a wasp-nest." (TPJS, p. 289)
  

• "This learned interpretation is all as flat as a pancake! 'What do you use such vulgar expressions for, being a prophet?' Because the old women understand it--they make pancakes. Deacon Homespun said the earth was flat as a pancake, and ridiculed the science which proved to the contrary. The whole argument is flat, and I don't know of anything better to represent it." (TPJS, p. 292)
  

• "Let me be resurrected with the Saints, whether I ascend to heaven or descend to hell, or go to any other place. And if we go to hell, we will turn the devils out of doors and make a heaven of it." (TPJS, p. 316)
  

• "But there has been a great difficulty in getting anything into the heads of this generation. It has been like splitting hemlock knots with a corn-dodger for a wedge, and a pumpkin for a beetle." (TPJS, p. 331)
  

• "Many men say there is one God; the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are only one God. I say that is a strange God anyhow--three in one, and one in three! It is a curious organization. "Father, I pray not for the world, but I pray for them which thou hast given me." "Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are." All are to be crammed into one God, according to sectarianism. It would make the biggest God in all the world. He would be a wonderfully big God--he would be a giant or a monster." (TPJS, p. 372)
  

[altersteve]

One of my favorites is where Joseph was debating with a local priest about the Bible, and when he defeated the priest, Joseph went outside and drew a line in the dirt, then jumped and challenged the priest to jump farther. He said something to the effect of, "You can't defeat me in a Bible debate, but maybe you can beat me at that."

[rameumptom]

A member once held out his hand to give Joseph 5 dollars in coins. Joseph hit the man's hand up, so the coins went flying. He began to laugh, until he saw the sad look on the person. He immediately apologized and helped pick up the coins.

[Maidservant]

I love this and the other stories so far. Are there more like this and where can I find them? I wish we could put a face to them. I don't understand why no-one would not have taken a pic of him like others had gotten done.

There is a death mask that may have the outlines of his face. I saw a slide of that at a presentation and I gasped to see it. It seemed so intimate; and I tried to imagine what those outlines would look like if a living man. When people died and were laid out, they were laid out with a mask over the top of their face and a long cover (shroud), and then the viewing proceeded, people walking by. Or so I understood as told me by the person giving the presentation.

Are there photos of Joseph Smith's sons, I wonder?

[JeremyOrbe-Smith]

Joseph Smith was such a cool cat. Has anyone proved yet whether the photo of him below is legit? It's by far my favorite (purported) pic; if it's him, it emphasizes how young all the founding members of this revolutionary Church were.

Edited January 26, 2013 by JeremyOrbe-Smith

[altersteve]

Are there photos of Joseph Smith's sons, I wonder?

Joseph Smith III:

[why me]

It would be nice if someone would put Joseph's wit and one liners in a book. They would be interesting to read.

[Rivers]

It would be nice if someone would put Joseph's wit and one liners in a book. They would be interesting to read.

There is. A mission companion of mine got this old book of from a member that was giving away old books. I believe it was titled The Wit and Humour of Joseph Smith or something like that. It had some funny stories. But I can't seem to find anything about it online.

In one story, Joseph was preaching a sermon outside and a flock of birds flew across the sky and distracted the congregation. Joseph then said something like, "If your more interested in birds then I am not going to preach any further." Then he sat back down.

I also like the story in Rough Stone Rolling where Joseph says that he going to study law and the leans back and falls asleep.

[MormonMason]

Wilford Woodruff reported that once two ministers had visited Joseph Smith at his home one Sunday afternoon. As they concluded their visit and stepped outside, Joseph drew a line on the ground with the heel of his shoe, toed the mark, and made a jump. After marking the place where he landed, he addressed them with the challenge, "Which one of you can beat that?" The pious ministers were shocked at such conduct on the Sabbath day; and that is what the Prophet expected. He could easily discern their pharisaical natures and knew that they came only to look for faults. So he gave them an opportunity to criticize by openly disdaining their narrow views and notions.

(Hyrum L. Andrus, Joseph Smith, the Man and the Seer, 46; as cited from LDS Library 2006)

Edited March 12, 2013 by MormonMason

[ERayR]

I love this and the other stories so far. Are there more like this and where can I find them? I wish we could put a face to them. I don't understand why no-one would not have taken a pic of him like others had gotten done.

The only digital camera in town had dead batteries.

[nosmelone]

If I recall in the Truman G. Madsen lectures on Joseph Smith there is a story about Joseph and someone who attempted call on God to destroy Joseph or something like that and when nothing happened Joseph asked him if he would like to cut himself (reminiscent of the prophets of Baal and Elijah). lol

[David T]

In my early years I used to eat often at the table with Joseph the Prophet. At one time he was called to dinner. I was at play in the room with his son Joseph when he called us to him, and we stood one on each side of him. After he had looked over the table he said, "Lord, we thank Thee for this johnny cake, and ask Thee to send us something better. Amen."

The cornbread was cut and I received a piece from his hand. Before the bread was all eaten, a man came to the door and asked if the Prophet Joseph was at home.

Joseph replied he was, whereupon the visitor said, "I have brought you some flour and a ham."

Joseph arose and took the gift, and blessed the man in the name of the Lord. Turning to his wife, Emma, he said, "I knew the Lord would answer my prayer."

[cinepro]

Wilford Woodruff reported that once two ministers had visited Joseph Smith at his home one Sunday afternoon. As they concluded their visit and stepped outside, Joseph drew a line on the ground with the heel of his shoe, toed the mark, and made a jump. After marking the place where he landed, he addressed them with the challenge, "Which one of you can beat that?" The pious ministers were shocked at such conduct on the Sabbath day; and that is what the Prophet expected. He could easily discern their pharisaical natures and knew that they came only to look for faults. So he gave them an opportunity to criticize by openly disdaining their narrow views and notions.

(Hyrum L. Andrus, Joseph Smith, the Man and the Seer, 46; as cited from LDS Library 2006)

I once invited my home teachers to go to In-N-Out after Church, just to make the same point. It totally backfired and we ended up having a great lunch.

Edited March 12, 2013 by cinepro

[Tacenda]

I once invited my home teachers to go to In-N-Out after Church, just to make the same point. It totally backfired and we ended up having a great lunch.

I grew up going out to dinner on Sundays with my Dad. He was inactive on occasion and use to say they introduced him in Priesthood often as the new guy in the ward. When he was much older they wanted to make him a HP. After they ordained him, it was on a Sunday and several of my family members were there to witness, he said he was taking his family out to dinner! They didn't flinch at that comment but I remember it was in my TBM days and I worried what they would think of our going out to a restaurant on a Sunday especially right after he was made a High Priest. But Cinepro, that's a great story of those home teachers and them not being all pharisiacal about it, they did it just as the Saviour would want it. Edited March 12, 2013 by Tacenda

[Avatar4321]

OKay... THAT was funny