by

Church is different things to different people. It can be a respite, a haven. It can be divisive; it can knit us together. It is often boring. It can fill us with peace or with pain, and sometimes both within the same meeting. It can be the source of angst and pure joy. But I hope we can all agree that church is the best when it’s funny. The following are my favorite remembrances of irreverent laughter – the kind that causes you to slump over in your pew to hide your shameful shoulder-shaking and tear-wiping from God and the bishop.

That time my husband quoted Mean Girls during Fast and Testimony meeting. A visitor was well past the 10 minute mark when Jon leaned over and whispered “He doesn’t even go here!”

This: “O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this water- -bread. My bad. O God, the Eternal Father…”

That time a missionary prematurely made his way up to the pulpit to give the benediction (in his defense, The Spirit of God really is more of a closing hymn than intermediate). When he reached his destination, he and the concluding speaker both stood there, regarding each other, before the missionary realized his mistake and hastily took a seat on the stand.

The best over-the-pulpit Freudian slip of all time: The bishop stood up to announce that next, we would be singing the beloved Christmas hymn “With Wandering Eye.”

The best over-the-pulpit Canadian slip of all time: The second counselor stood up to announce that next, we would be singing “Upon the Cross of Calgary.”

My favorite program typo ever (well, that I’ve personally witnessed. This one wins everything, if real): My then-boyfriend circled “choister” and wrote next to it “Rhymes with oyster?”

That time my friend Lianna, through a brilliant pantomime, jokingly accused my sister of having taken a handful of Sacrament bread, squished it into a ball, and stored it to nibble on throughout the meeting.

That time my friend Christa pointed out that a ward member was cleaning his fingernails with a large knife during the passing of the Sacrament.

That time my husband made an astute, whispered comparison of Facebook to drugs during someone’s testimony. “I got on it because my kids and a lot of my friends were on it.” “That’s what they say about meth.”

Honorable mention because I didn’t find it funny at the time (more like bewildering), but it IS: That time my parents had an uncontrollable laughing fit during Sacrament meeting. The speaker was reading “The Night Before Jesus Came,” a terrible spin off the Christmas poem. When she got to the part about flying to the window, tearing open the shutters, and throwing up the sash, my dad leaned over to my mom and whispered, “That’s why I don’t eat sash anymore.” It’s important that you know how composed my parents typically are, particularly at church (very). I’ve never seen them lose control like that. My crying mother hunched over and started furiously reading her scriptures to try to counteract it, and the speaker even paused to give them an admonishing look.

Second honorable mention because it didn’t technically happen at church but must be included: That time my sister, during a session in the Salt Lake temple, stood up in the middle of the room, clutching her envelope and gazing expectantly around for a good six seconds, before realizing with horror that it wasn’t yet time to move to the next room. My mom and my other sister were also present, and all four of us completely lost it.

What’s the hardest you’ve ever laughed when you were supposed to be reverent? Spill.