Snopes, Saints, and Santa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Recently I received a phone call from Sam's Club in which I was informed that through a store promotional I had won six months worth of free gas for my\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithpromotingrumor\/2010\/12\/snopes-saints-and-santa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Snopes, Saints, and Santa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Recently I received a phone call from Sam's Club in which I was informed that through a store promotional I had won six months worth of free gas for my\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithpromotingrumor\/2010\/12\/snopes-saints-and-santa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith-Promoting Rumor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-12-22T06:21:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bored in Vernal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bored in Vernal\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithpromotingrumor\/2010\/12\/snopes-saints-and-santa\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithpromotingrumor\/2010\/12\/snopes-saints-and-santa\/\",\"name\":\"Snopes, Saints, and Santa\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithpromotingrumor\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-12-22T06:21:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-12-22T06:21:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithpromotingrumor\/#\/schema\/person\/c24a5e8b6773bfcfe7a4a7c07f275cd1\"},\"description\":\"Recently I received a phone call from Sam's Club in which I was informed that through a store promotional I had won six months worth of free gas for my\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithpromotingrumor\/2010\/12\/snopes-saints-and-santa\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithpromotingrumor\/2010\/12\/snopes-saints-and-santa\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithpromotingrumor\/2010\/12\/snopes-saints-and-santa\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithpromotingrumor\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Snopes, Saints, and Santa\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithpromotingrumor\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithpromotingrumor\/\",\"name\":\"Faith-Promoting Rumor\",\"description\":\"Exploring Mormon Thought, Culture, and Texts\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithpromotingrumor\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithpromotingrumor\/#\/schema\/person\/c24a5e8b6773bfcfe7a4a7c07f275cd1\",\"name\":\"Bored in Vernal\",\"description\":\"A feminist pacifist liberal Mormon mother of eight, BiV began blogging several years ago to relieve a terrible case of boredom while living in Vernal, Utah. 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{"id":3843,"date":"2010-12-22T01:21:51","date_gmt":"2010-12-22T06:21:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.faithpromotingrumor.com\/?p=3843"},"modified":"2010-12-22T01:21:51","modified_gmt":"2010-12-22T06:21:51","slug":"snopes-saints-and-santa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithpromotingrumor\/2010\/12\/snopes-saints-and-santa\/","title":{"rendered":"Snopes, Saints, and Santa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

A skeptical generation, we have been taught to disbelieve. \u00a0There are signals that we are being lied to, or being taken advantage of \u2014 and being asked for personal financial or identification information is one of the big indicators. \u00a0No longer do we believe every piece of information that passes through our email, and there are places to go to check out stories that seem a little fishy. \u00a0Snopes<\/a> is a popular website used to confirm or disprove rumors, stories or urban legends which circulate in American popular culture, and there is a Mormon version<\/a> of the site as well. \u00a0No longer must we fall prey to the false belief that John Taylor was saved by his pocket watch, or that a missionary Zone Conference was planned at the World Trade Center on September 11.<\/p>\n

..faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,\u201d we are taught in Hebrews. \u00a0And the Book of Mormon clarifies that \u201cif ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.<\/p>\n

Yet despite the modern emphasis on evidence and truth, Mormons<\/a> have a great desire to believe. \u00a0Perhaps because our foundational story, the First Vision, is impossible to prove, we hold a place in our hearts for the magical world view. \u00a0It is a place where seagulls save the day, where oxen are cured by the touch of a faithful woman\u2019s hands, where faces are transfigured into the image of a dead prophet. \u00a0Tell me, if you will, if these apocryphal stories are an aid or a detriment to a Latter-day Saint\u2019s faith. \u00a0Will the discovery that they are historically questionable bring down the rest of one\u2019s belief like a house of cards? \u00a0How should the teacher or parent approach these Mormon legends?<\/p>\n

I am of the opinion that just because these great Mormon stories have been debunked does not mean that they hold no value. \u00a0They are the great myths and touchstones of our unique heritage. \u00a0I think they should be taught as such. \u00a0Let us simply preface the retelling with the words, \u201cthe story is told that\u2026\u201d and end it by explaining the symbolism, the meaning it holds for faithful Latter-day Saints. \u00a0I believe, for example, that early Saints told the story of Brigham\u2019s transfiguration to reinforce the idea that the Lord had approved President Young as the next prophetic leader and that the mantle of Joseph\u2019s calling had fallen upon his successor. \u00a0 It holds the powerful symbolic meaning that the people had a spiritual manifestation of Brigham\u2019s call. \u00a0Our children may not recognize the distinction when they are young, but as they mature there is no need to obscure the fact that in this case there are no contemporary eyewitness accounts and that some of the later accounts come from people who were not even present at the event. \u00a0We need not manufacture evidence to support a literal interpretation of this story. \u00a0Faith can be kindled whether or not this story is presented as strictly true. \u00a0Lavina Fielding Anderson does this spectacularly in her Dialogue article \u201c Mary Fielding Smith: Her Ox Goes Marching On<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

I think this gives us an option for dealing with the Santa question. \u00a0I see no harm in the story being told. \u00a0I do prefer, however, that it is presented as a myth, a legend, a fun tradition. \u00a0At first, small children will not distinguish the subtleties, but as they grow, I disagree with those who would lie, plant \u201cevidence\u201d of Santa, or perpetuate the mistaken impression that there exists an actual and tangible fat man in a red suit who comes down the chimney to deposit candy in stockings. \u00a0As many have pointed out, there is magic in the spirit of love and giving. Santa can be used to teach the deeper wonder of symbolism and myth.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"