We’ve talked here at Segullah before about grief, and how for all of our Mormon doctrine about hope and life eternal and the glories of salvation, Mormons aren’t always that good with grief. We rush to comfort those who stand in need of comfort, but lots of times we do it badly. We want to give hope, but somehow want to do it by pretending that hope and sorrow can’t co-exist (they can). We accentuate the hope (which is good) and ignore the sorrow (which is bad).
I know I have been on both sides of this equation. I know that at times I have done a poor job of easing somebody’s emotional burden, but I only learned that after I went through some trials myself and received some well meant but badly executed comfort. As I thought about comfort and mourning and burdens, I wondered:
Can humor be used to mourn with those that mourn?