Speaking to 42,000 young revelers gathered in Salt Lake City last weekend, President Gordon B. Hinckley declared, "You do great justice to the Prophet Joseph, who liked to have fun!"

President Hinckley spoke well. In a day when theater, music and dance were considered by some religionists to be instruments of the devil, Joseph Smith encouraged the development of these cultural arts among his people.

Under the leadership of President Brigham Young, such encouragement would be continued after the Latter-day Saints moved west and established Salt Lake City.

From the beginning of the Church in this dispensation, we have been a celebrating people. We are disposed to frequent commemoration of landmark events in our history with song, dance and pageantry, as reflected in the recent activities in several Utah communities and other locales around the world marking this 200th year since the birth of the Prophet Joseph Smith and 175 years since the Restoration.

That such activity has divine approbation may be gathered from this passage in the "word and will of the Lord" given through President Brigham Young near Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Jan. 14, 1847, as the Saints were on the westward trek to their new mountain headquarters:

"If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving" (Doctrine and Covenants 136:26).

As this issue of the Church News is being circulated, Utah residents and Church members elsewhere in the world are observing the annual Pioneer Day celebration commemorating the arrival of the first company of Latter-day Saints in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. With the passage of 158 years, we have ever greater cause for celebration and thanksgiving as we reflect on the faith and tenacity of those hardy souls who, leaving the crucible of persecution in their beloved city by the Mississippi River, established a base of operations for the latter-day gathering of Israel, first to the settlements in Utah Territory and subsequently to stakes of Zion throughout the world. As they praised the Lord with singing, dancing and prayer for the preservation of their lives and community, we today with similar expressions laud their accomplishments and, with gratitude, regard the miracle of the kingdom rolling forth.

This week, we found yet another occasion for festivity as we gave tribute to our beloved President Hinckley, observing his 95 years with "A Celebration of Life," a special concert in the Conference Center. As did a similar event five years ago, the concert showcased some of the stellar excellence that the Church and its members have to offer in the way of performing arts, with representation from the worlds of classical and popular music. We truly have cause for a prayer of thanksgiving in the lifetime accomplishments of this great prophet-leader and the fact that the Lord has preserved his health and lengthened out his life.

It is in the nature of mankind to engage in festivity. It is appropriate to do so on occasion, as the Preacher's words indicate:

"To every thing there is season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. . . .

"A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance" (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4).

All too often, however, festivity and revelry take forms that degrade and debase men and women, being characterized by immorality, crudeness and the use of harmful substances. Contrast this with celebrations such as those mentioned above, which gladden hearts, express true joy, ennoble those who participate and bind them together in love and friendship.

Surely, the inclination to praise the Lord with a prayer of thanksgiving can have a sanctifying influence on our celebrations and festive gatherings. They thus become a means of worshiping our Father in Heaven, even as they provide us with entertainment and diversion.