The Santa Claus Effect

For many of us, Christmas and Santa Claus were part and parcel of growing up. The lights, the tree, presents, coupon clipping, black and white movies, and oh the music. There’s one aspect of that holiday that I feel requires a bit more scrutiny, and that is the big ol’ jolly man himself, Santa Claus. Do you remember being told that a fat man dressed in red and white was going to come down your chimney? Do you remember leaving out cookies and milk for the Jolly ol’ Saint Nick? And how in the world did your parents allow him to break into your house? And what about this, do you also remember the day you found out that Santa Claus wasn’t real? (Sorry for not including a “spoiler alert” for any of you who are hearing this for the first time. RIP Santa!)

I don’t remember the exact moment I was told that Santa Claus wasn’t real, but I do remember the emotions. I can imagine my innocent childhood brain thinking “Wait a minute… you told me this fat man was real. And now he’s not… you lied to me? And you are my parents. How did I fall for that?" I’m sure many of you could share similar experiences. That brings us to a story I read about from Brent Metcalfe. He was a former church security guard and he recently shared some thoughts about an idea that I like to call "The Santa Claus Effect."

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"One of the worst experiences I had as a parent was having my son come in to me and – gosh, he has to have been around 5 or 6 – and the neighbor son across the street, and he happened to be the pastor of the local Evangelical Church told him: Did you know that Santa Claus isn’t real? And here I am sitting at the desk in my little office and my son comes in and his friend is with him. And he goes, “so… so.. Santa’s not real – like the ones in the malls, right?” And he’s trying to explain this, and I’m feeling, oh - this is so going to go south; This is not going to go well. And he’s just looking like, “Dad – you told me the truth, right?” And oh my gosh. From then on it was like, I will never lie to my kids again about any cultural tradition, about anything, because the look on his face while he’s trying to explain to me that what we’re talking about are the Santas in the malls and that the real Santa still exists."

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So does this happen within the church? Do we have our own flavor of Santa Claus? Brent then shared an experience he had while picking up Elder Peterson from the airport: (edited slightly from the original podcast to improve readability)

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"One of the nights, I was called to pick up Elder Mark E. Peterson from the airport. And so I did… and on the way home from the airport he was actually one of the most cordial General Authorities and members of the 12 I had ever had any personal interaction with (which kind of surprised me), he was very talkative and we were talking back and forth (Boyd K. Packer, by the way, was just the opposite)… So we’re driving him home and I thought, “Oh, I’m just going to go there, I’m going to say, ‘you know, I’m wondering what you would think about this idea. A friend of mine, who’s an LDS apologist and has written this pamphlet that takes this position that the Adam-God theory is false, but yes, Brigham Young taught it, but he’s still a true prophet. Right?

Before I could even get the words out – Mark E. Peterson, unlike others who would usually sit in the back when I would drive them home from the airport, was sitting right next to me in the passenger’s seat. He was already shaking his head. And he said, “No. No. We can never admit this. If we do, we will have members becoming fundamentalists; they’ll be leaving the church; we can never, ever admit this.” And I was just like so taken aback, because he was basically acknowledging, yes – he taught this, but no – we can never admit to it, because this would be a travesty for so many people’s faith, and we cannot be responsible for that. And of course, any historian who’s worth their salt knows that Brigham Young taught it. Whether you’re devout LDS or not, you know that.

(speaking to a friend)…So they asked me, what do you think people find most distressing about the LDS church that causes them to leave? And I said, if there’s one thing that history has told me, and I gave the Adam God theory as an example, it’s that when people discover that Brigham Young taught Adam God, that doesn’t always cause them to leave, it’s when they find out that a General Authority has lied about it. That blows their testimonies out of the water. And I just said, you know, that’s what I’ve learned through all of this. Sooner or later, they’re going to discover that Santa Claus doesn’t exist."

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It's not the Adam-God theory that I care about in this story. What I find interesting is how the church sets up certain expectations by telling you the "truth" (#puretruth) and then you come to find out, if you choose to dig deeper, they have lied to you on occasion. Or what about the time you realized a philosophy or doctrine of the church contradicts what Christ taught in the scriptures? Christ Himself chastised the church for not living the doctrines taught in the Book of Mormon. (see D&C 84)

If you set your testimony upon the pillars of the brethren they will eventually fail you. This is a fact. You'll learn or find out about something they've said or done and your testimony in them will crumble... but ONLY if that is where your testimony resides. That's why the counsel given by Jesus Christ in the various canon of scripture is so important. (2 Nephi 28:30-31, JST Mark 9) Trust in Him and Him alone. Yes, we can learn many wonderful lessons from inspired men and women, but only if the Spirit adds a confirming witness to their words.

There may be some of you who may be thinking that Jesus Christ is just another Santa Claus, a figment of social constructs and fanciful imagination. I would kindly suggest that there is a way to know who Christ is and your relationship to Him. Take the time to experiment upon His word. Study what He taught, then live it. See what happens in your life. I share my witness that you will, in time, partake of a fruit that is “sweet above all that is sweet”: (Alma 32)

41 But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.

42 And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.

43 Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you.

Shalom

Disclaimer: Only a small portion of my thoughts and feelings are contained within this essay. It is nearly impossible to condense a lifetime of study, thoughts, and impressions, into a few paragraphs. I value and encourage the need for altering perspective as new light and knowledge is acquired. One of the best ways to know a person’s heart is to sit down and talk face-to-face, perhaps while consuming a mild barley drink.