Hi, I'm Tracy Hickman

I'm an International Best-Selling Fantasy Author, game designer and a Mormon.

About Me

I am best known as the creator of the 'Dragonlance' series as well as numerous fantasy and science-fiction books and games. I've appeared at speculative fiction and game conventions from Italy to Australia. My wife and I teach seminars in writing, love to travel, and play games with our family and friends. I'm a father of four grown children and have been married to my inspiration and most beautiful wife for over thirty years.

Why I am a Mormon

I was born into the Church ... but that is not why I am a Mormon. My ancestors knew Joseph Smith, migrated to Utah and my parents were raised Mormon ... but that is not why I am a Mormon.

I was a rebellious young man who took my parents faith for granted. It was just something everyone did in my family and community. I was without a rudder and drifting in a sea of people who seemed to have purpose and direction.

Then one night I was at work as a projectionist in the Academy Theater in my home town. I decided to ask God what He thought I should do -- not my parent, not my Bishop and not my friends. It was then that the Spirit came to me with such force that I could not deny its truth. I was overcome with the knowledge and reality of my calling. Right there in a movie projection booth ... what a place to have an epiphany!

All I knew was that I should serve a mission for my church ... that was the simple and bold answer that I got. I discovered that after a lifetime of worship I knew NOTHING of my faith. I was called to serve in Indonesia -- about as far from my home as one could go and be a Christian Missionary to the most populated Islamic nation in the world.

It was there, a world away from my home, that I discovered my favorite convert to the church ... me. I had to literally travel to the furthest part of the planet to discover the foundation of faith that was, after all, in my own back yard.

Personal Stories

Please share your feelings/testimony of Joseph Smith.

Someone once asked me at a party, "If there was one person in all of history that you would like to meet and have a conversation with, who would that be?"

My answer was immediate. "Brother Joseph."

Joseph Smith was a man like other men and yet so much more. He had faults and shortcomings the same as every man who has ever lived. But he was a man who was called of God, ordained before the world began, to come to this time and this place to fulfill a marvelous work and a wonder. He opened that door that had stood between us and God for so many generations. He opened the floodgates of inspiration and prophesy -- communication with our Creator. He showed us how to find the purity of the gospel word. And then he sealed it all with the full measure of his devotion -- and died a martyr to his cause.

Through 'Brother Joseph' the purity of the gospel light was restored to the world and has remained with us ever since. When I return heaven, I hope to seek him out and thank Joseph for helping me find my way back home. Christ saved me ... Joseph showed me how.

How I live my faith

I try to live my faith with every breath. Both my wife and I teach Sunday School to the seventeen years old members of our congregation each Sunday and each of us conduct the music in our respective men's and women's groups as well. My wife and I also have the great privilege of donating one morning each week to serve other church members at our local Temple. Last year we even tried out to become members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir ... and we'll try again this year, too!

How can I find someone to talk with, in person, about the Mormon religion?

Tracy Hickman answered...

You can talk with someone right now, I believe, through this Mormon.org website ... or find Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in your phone book and call ... or stand up in any crowd waiting for some event and call out, "Hey, anybody here a Mormon?"
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Stephanie answered...

One of the best ways to learn about basic tenants of our religion is by checking resources like this website, chatting with the missionaries, and have them send you some resources (like a Book of Mormon, videos, etc.) and then try finding the closest LDS chapel in your area by looking in the phone book or online. They can have missionaries come to your home and teach you if you wish. Another good way is to go to church with a friend or an acquaintance of yours who is LDS, and they can also connect you with the missionaries. If you don't have any of those resources nearby, chat with the missionaries and they will find a way to have someone connect with you. There's probably more Mormons around than you think.

What are Mormon Temples used for?

Bonnie. answered...

They are peaceful, pure places, where only those who have committed to live the most discipled lives can go to ponder and pray. They are places where we learn about God's plan for all of humanity, and where we promise to do all in our power to help all of His children, and receive promises that we can be with Him as well. We wear white clothing that is simple, and remove our watches and bling, to demonstrate a willingness to let go of our day-to-day concerns to focus on the real things: people, and their worth to God.