Our beginnings...

I believe in Santa Claus. When I was young, I believed in Santa with a fierce devotion that many aspire to in their religious belief. Santa, as an idea, is a beautiful thing. I felt so then and I still feel that way. The great thing about Santa is that his reality make many other things possible as well.

When I was about 10 my mother decided that my belief might cause me to suffer teasing from my more jaded friends. On Christmas night that year, after all the presents were opened and festivities concluded, she tucked me into bed and proceeded to tell me the realities of her Santa charade. I was shocked! I couldn't believe it. I refused to believe it. I cried, I held my breath, I told her she was a liar. When I asked my friends about it, they confirmed her lie.

For me, Santa is a symbol of possibilities, and also a reality on some level. I want to believe. I might feel the same way about UFOs, and Sasquatch. I think there are all sorts of possibilities, in places we don't expect. This causes me to wonder about mystic elements of the Mormon religion. I have some reservations about many of the concepts that are proposed as mainstream doctrine, but I also want to believe in some of the more mystical elements. Tangible objects tied to religion fascinate me particularly: the seer stone, the consecrated oil, the symbology of the temple.

We all have some element of belief, and some element of doubt. Doubt is what allows faith something to push against. Some might find faith in the temple, and not in the seer stone; others may find the opposite. I would like to explore the more tangible, physical artifacts and practices which give expression to faith.