A Joyful Heart

A LITTLE HUMOR

If you regularly listen to General Conference every year, you no doubt remember the story below.  It was not mentioned in the televised or written recording but only the audio version of the Oct. 2007 General Priesthood Meeting.  Both Pres. Hinckley and Pres. Monson are beloved by the people and both have a keen sense of humor.  I presume that humor will follow us all into our next life.

Pres. Monson said, toward the conclusion of his remarks, “We express appreciation for the father and son choir and for the beautiful music they provided this evening.  I must mention one simple thing that I observed while the boys and fathers sang.

I observed a father with flaming red hair and I saw a son also with flaming red hair.   I remembered one conference where I felt compelled to shake off security and go down front and see someone who was standing there and who needed a visit.  I did so and I talked to him.  Then I saw a boy and mentioned,  “You have beautiful red hair.  I know that boys with red hair can accomplish anything.  When I was a mission president, I liked to have a boy with red hair in every zone in every district because they were pace-setters.”

“I then shook his hand and ruffled his hair and went back up and left the building.  Later, I got a lovely note from his mother.  She said, ‘What you did for my boy, I can never repay.  He’s always been shy, he’s always been embarrassed about having red hair and every one teased him.  You changed all that by what you said.  Now he stands, every morning in front to the mirror, combing and brushing his flaming red hair.’

“Sometimes we do some good without some advanced thinking, by following the Spirit to help a boy who is embarrassed about his red hair to become a winner and an achiever, thru one simple little visit. 

Pres. Hinckley is that kind of man.  He brings out the best in all he meets.”

Pres Hinckley was the next speaker and he began his talk with, “Bro. Monson, I’m looking for you to dye your hair!”

Pres. Hinckley then gave his talk about avoiding anger.  Within his talk he mentioned the following:

A small publication that came to me some years ago carried the following:

“Once a man who had been slandered by a newspaper came to Edward Everett asking what to do about it. Said Everett, “Do nothing! Half the people who bought the paper never saw the article. Half of those who saw it, did not read it. Half of those who read it, did not understand it. Half of those who understood it, did not believe it. Half of those who believed it are of no account anyway” (“Sunny Side of the Street,” Nov. 1989; see also Zig Ziglar, Staying Up, Up, Up in a Down, Down World [2000], 174).

“So many of us make a great fuss of matters of small consequence.  We are so easily offended.  Happy is the man who can brush aside the offending remarks of another and go on his way.”