Profanity

The opposite of revering sacred things, profanity is disrespect or contempt for the name and things of God. Something that is profane is unholy, impure, and ungodly. The term profanity usually refers to speech that is crude, coarse, or improperly and irreverently uses the names of Deity. The scriptures, both ancient and modern, warn against profanity. From Mount Sinai, God declared, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain” (Exodus 20:7; see also Mosiah 13:15; D&C 136:21). In the New Testament, James spoke of the hypocrisy of one who speaks blessings and then with the same mouth utters curses (James 3:10). Profanity is the antithesis of the “tongue of angels” and is repulsive to the Spirit of God (2 Nephi 31:13). “Do angels take the Lord’s name in vain?” asked President George Q. Cannon. “The idea is so ridiculous that we scarcely like to ask the question. . . . How dare we do that which angels dare not do? Is it possible for us to argue that that which is forbidden in heaven is praiseworthy on earth?” Profanity is “unnecessary and consequently foolish; it lessens our respect for holy things and leads us into the society of the wicked; it brings upon us the disrespect of the good who avoid us; it leads us to other sins, for he who is willing to abuse his Creator is not ashamed to defraud his fellow creature; and also by so doing we directly and knowingly break one of the most direct of God’s commandments” (156).

Profanity is much more than merely profaning God’s name. It is swearing. It is using coarse and crude language, whether in anger or jest. It is the attempt of a feeble mind to express itself. Such language reflects the “corrupt communication” (Ephesians 4:29) of the natural man rather than the communication of one whose thoughts and words are garnished with virtue unceasingly (D&C 121:45). Profanity is also filthy and foul talk manifest in dirty jokes, slang, euphemisms, “bathroom talk,” and sexual innuendoes. These forms of corrupt communication are as grievous to the Spirit of the Lord as swearing is. Both indicate what is in the mind and the heart. Profane, filthy, and foul talk, if not checked by repentance, will lead to profane behaviors. As a man thinks—and speaks—so is he (Proverbs 23:7). President Gordon B. Hinckley testified: “I know that the Lord is pleased when we use clean and virtuous language, for He has set an example for us. His revelations are couched in words that are affirmative, that are uplifting, that encourage us to do what is right and to go forward in truth and goodness. Don’t swear. Don’t profane. Stay away from conversation that is sprinkled with foul and filthy words. You will be happier if you do so, and your example will give strength to others” (48).

Sources

Cannon, George Q. “Editorial Thoughts.” Juvenile Instructor 8, no. 20 (27 Sept. 1873): 156.

Hinckley, Gordon B. “Take Not the Name of God in Vain.” Ensign, Nov. 1987, 44–48.

BLT