- Chad Nielsen on A Christmas Gift for the Restoration: A Beginner’s Guide to B. H. Roberts: “True… but it wasn’t beloved by me, and I was thinking more about theology when I was working on this. That’s a miss on my part, Kent. I guess we’ll leave that one to Ardis unless I get around to a second edition (https://a.co/d/aYtEkTT)” Dec 24, 21:14
- on A Christmas Gift for the Restoration: A Beginner’s Guide to B. H. Roberts: “Uh, no fiction excerpts??? Roberts wrote one of the most enduring works of LDS fiction, which was adapted over and over again.” Dec 24, 21:06
- on Bah Humbug: Why We Don’t Do Santa: “I think the picture is AI because although Santa has all five fingers, there is something wrong with the fingers on that guy sitting on the stand. They are interlaced, but he has two fingers where one should be. Zoom in and you can see it. As for all the other AI proof, well, it could be a fireside for stake presidents and their wives, which would explain the enthusiasm of sitting on the first row. But it for SURE isn’t Sacrament meeting because it is all adults of about bishopric and stake presidency age. And there are a few very old buildings that do have pipe organs, my husband knows of one in Austria if it still exists. We did Santa with the explanation that, yes, it is pretend and pretend can be fun, so don’t ruin it for others. But thinking back, my parents did the same, only my autism spectrum brother didn’t understand “pretend” and was disillusioned at 12. And I suppose that my children were the same with their children, but one granddaughter was disillusioned at 11 when her parents had to sit her down and explain, but I swear that kid is also on the autism spectrum. It runs in my family, and even if her parents refuse to get her tested, I have a degree in psychology and she has the symptoms. So, even being clear that it is a game can still leave children who have learning/social disabilities confused. But stating angrily that the pretend is a “lie” is also morally reprehensible because it isn’t a “lie” unless it is presented as truth, and most parents give hints that it is a game, and the pretend nature of the whole thing is pretty obvious after you live a normal life, unless the person has a problem picking up social clues, like autistic kids do. I mean, you see it in movies and there is a Santa in every store who is obviously a guy in costume, so unless the kids are clueless most kids catch on. My autistic daughter was not slow realizing that Santa in no more real than the Grinch. Well, at my house he was always more real than Santa, cause we didn’t say Grinch was pretend.” Dec 24, 12:42
- on A Christmas Gift for the Restoration: A Beginner’s Guide to B. H. Roberts: “Yay! Kindred Spirits” Dec 24, 09:16
- on A Christmas Gift for the Restoration: A Beginner’s Guide to B. H. Roberts: “Thanks Chad! Merry Christmas. Started my first ever B. H. Roberts read and I think we are kindred spirits.” Dec 24, 08:26
- on Bah Humbug: Why We Don’t Do Santa: “‘Santa’ always filled a stocking at our house but there was never an illusion of Santa being anyone other than the parents for much the same reasons as the OP. We did ‘Santa crawls’ – like a pub crawl but getting to as many department store Santas as possible in one day – and so onto make sure it was clear. But there’s a downside – if no one ever believes there’s no obvious cut off and so we’re still doing stockings for anyone at our house on Christmas Eve ?” Dec 23, 19:49
- on Bah Humbug: Why We Don’t Do Santa: “The phrases “Santa Claus is real” and “Santa Claus is a real person who lives at the North Pole and flies around the world in a sleigh pulled by reindeer and comes down your chimney with presents” are not making the same claim.” Dec 23, 10:33
- on Bah Humbug: Why We Don’t Do Santa: “I think what your former Bishop did was admirable. There are plenty of justifications for perpetuating the Santa myth (most fall short). But Church, and Church leaders, should be a place for truth. You can’t teach children the remarkable story of Christ (which can be hard to believe) and also the remarkable story of Santa (pretty hard to believe), expecting them to believe both but knowing one is a lie. Parents shouldn’t do it, either, of course. But if you’re a Church leader and want to be known for telling the truth, this is how you do it. I expect vitriol and rationalizing in the comments. So be it.” Dec 23, 10:08
- on Bah Humbug: Why We Don’t Do Santa: “We couldn’t decide, and so the indecision forced our decision. We didn’t do gifts “from Santa,” but once our oldest was of sufficient age, we just went straight for “he embodies the spirit of giving in this special season” kind of thing. And that was good for him, as it turns out he is incredibly literal and we would have likely had a trust issue with him. Where it didn’t work was with our second, a girl, who WANTED to believe in Santa. So it became her saying she believed in Santa, and he would go out of his way to correct her on that, and she’d argue back that she just wanted to believe. All that said, it is still fun for me to just entertain the idea of that spirit of giving and joy.” Dec 23, 08:19
- on Bah Humbug: Why We Don’t Do Santa: “When my kids asked if santa was real, I told them santa wasn’t a name but a job title. Whoever is santa gives the gifts. Everyone can be santa.” Dec 22, 21:51
