Humor to Invite the Spirit?

Obviously, the real teacher in any spiritual setting is the Spirit. One common rhetorical tool I noticed this conference was the use of humor. Many speakers told anecdotes of their childhood, and used humor to break the ice with the audience. I think the use of humor is like a key to the gate of emotional connection with the audience.

When the audience allows themselves to laugh, they leave themselves vulnerable to other emotional connections. It is my opinion that the spirit is felt so much more powerfully when the audience has connected with the speaker.

Humor allows the spiritual experience to be memorable as well. How many of us remember Elder Haynie's story about being really muddy and not allowed to come into his Grandmother's house? At least for me the humor of the story allowed the message to stick with me much longer. It makes the lesson memorable and gives the spirit the opportunity to really teach us.

I think that humor is an extremely powerful tool used to convey a message. Obviously pathos is the core of this kind of emotional connection, however I think that humor is more powerful than being able to relate to a speaker or a story. I think it helps the audience be vulnerable and let down their guard to really relate to the speaker and feel the spirit.