Brethren…Not
many people think of Pres. Young as a humorist, but he had his moments.
The Humor of Brigham Young (Part of a talk given by Ron
Esplin at Education Week in about 2008, Dr. Ronald Kent Esplin is the managing
editor of The Joseph Smith Papers)
“Brigham
Young had a sense of humor…For example, a Mrs. Green decided that there was a
better religion that met her needs rather than the Latter-day Saint religion
and she wanted her name removed from the records of the Church. She wrote Brigham Young requesting this. Pres. Young responded, ‘This day we have
searched the records of the Church for baptisms for the remission of sins and
not finding your name therein, we were saved the necessity of removing your
name there from. Therefore, you may rest
assured that your sins are not forgiven you and enjoy the benefits thereof; your
brother in the gospel, Brigham Young.’
Next,
Brigham tried to handle with humor, a very serious charge. It was rumored that Brigham had said, about
the recently deceased President of the United States, Zachery Taylor, that he
was dead and gone and that Brigham was glad of it. In actuality, there were very few people that
were mourning Pres. Taylor. He was not a
very popular president and he had been a bloody general during the Mexican
War. That was not the issue, but rather
the unpatriotic maligning of the president of the United States.
Brigham
wrote an answer to these and other charges.
Newly elected Pres. Millard Fillmore told Pres. Young that he must
answer these charges or ‘I cannot keep you as governor,’ he admonished. Willard Richards and others helped to write a
hand written answer in a hundred page letter, that they called ‘beating against
the air.’ Pres. Young replied, ‘How can
we answer these frivolous charges, except in the same currency...’
This being
the case, Brigham then said, ‘I didn’t say that about Zach Taylor, it was Heber
Kimball and he didn’t really say that but he was with the non-Mormon judge who
left town who said it and Heber Kimball just bore testimony of the truthfulness
of it. Now I know this is a proverbial
feathers to the wind and gather them all up situation and it can’t be
done. But, we’re a sporting people. I propose this. I think the judge should go to (Hades) and
find out if Zach is there. Now if he gets
there and Zach Taylor is not there, I, Brigham Young, will confess that Heber
Kimball will acknowledge a false prophecy.
But if he is there and we think he is, he’ll have to foot the bill
himself and get out of (Hades) the best way he can.’”
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