Hi, I'm Nick

I am a sound engineer, record producer, documentary film maker, author, and I'm a Mormon.

About Me

For years I have been a musician, sound engineer and record producer. In the last few years I have started to make documentaries on subjects that interest me, and am producing a local radio show called The Radio Gold Hour. I wrote a book about the LDS Ordinance of the Sacrament, called Tree of Sacrament.
I am a father of 5 girls and I recently graduated with Bachelors of Science in Business, with an emphasis on Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship. I enjoy the challenges of working for myself and accomplishing all that I have set apart to work toward.

Why I am a Mormon

I was raised in a family where my mother was a "Mormon," but my father was not. I came to the understanding in my own time that the Mormon Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is the true Church of Jesus Christ on this earth. That the Book of Mormon is a true book of scripture that can bring the honest in heart closer to the Lord.
My faith strengthens me in times of trial and elevates my best moments beyond what I imaged they could be. All of the challenges that I face being in entertainment, an industry not known for its strong moral standard, are small because of the doctrines and connection that is the result of my faith.

How I live my faith

Because much of my work is in creating products or offering services relating to my faith, I often find myself studying or coming to know my faith. Each day I want to encounter the scriptures and with prayer in such a way to develop a relationship with my Heavenly Father and his son, Jesus Christ.

I teach gospel doctrine class with the responsibility of helping others come to know the scriptures at a higher level. So I also study the gospel with the hope of being able to teach it to others in an effective manner.

Are all Mormons required to serve a mission?

Nick answered...

"Required" is an interesting word when it comes to faith and religion. In the Mormon Church no one is "required" to serve a mission. Church membership is not revoked for not serving a mission. In this sense, they are not required, yet serving a mission is encouraged at many stages in life and in many different capacities throughout the world.

Missionary service is a tremendous blessing, a challenge, and one of the main focuses of the faith. The life of Jesus Christ was the life of a missionary in many respects. Performing service for one another, preaching the glad message of the gospel, and increasing the faith and dedication of God's children are exemplified in Christ's life and mirrored by those in missionary service.

To dedicate a portion of one's life in service propels those who serve and those who are served into a better life. During my two year mission to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and during my two year service mission with LDS Family Services, I was greatly blessed and strengthened. (I hope those whom I served found some value in my service as well.) That strength has taught me to better navigate this life, has kept my family relations intact, and has been the method of helping others overcome their trials as well.

Spiritually speaking, I don't find value in reflecting on what my life would be like without serving a mission. Instead, I rejoice in knowing that without that time in missionary service my life would be significantly less happy and productive. In my life, serving a mission has taken on many of the characteristics of a "required" act since I can't picture myself progressing very far without having served as a missionary. While not required to be a member of the Mormon church, missionary service has been a critical and welcome part of my life and growth spirituality. I will be forever grateful that I had the opportunity to serve missions, and look forward to serving in many more.
Austin. answered...

No. Every worthy young man is expected to serve a mission, though there is no punishment for not doing so. Also, not every young man is physically or mentally capable, so there are circumstances where a young man may be excused from service. Young women may also serve missions, but are not expected to do so.

Serving a mission means a full-time commitment, leaving family and friends to preach the gospel in a place assigned by the Church.

I served my mission in Los Angeles, California.

What is faith?

Cary answered...

Faith is a huge topic, rarely fully understood even by people who talk about it a lot. In the Mormon conception, it's a step of confidence between mere belief and full knowledge. It's perhaps best described by contrast with these two extremes on the continuum on which they all lie. First, faith is not that passive thing we call belief because it's a principle of action. So for someone to have faith, they have to be motivated to put a belief into practice, not merely be content with keeping it in their mind. For example, we believe that Christ is the Savior, but because we have faith we ACT as if this were true, and follow His example as best we can. In fact, "acting as if..." is a fairly good phrase to define faith. On the other hand, faith is not "perfect knowledge" either. There is enough of an element of uncertainty about the thing we have faith in, that it takes an effort of conscious decision-making to test our faith's hypothesis. If we had a full knowledge of a thing, that whole test, and the faith to find out if it's true, wouldn't be necessary. Atheists will argue that faith is mere belief (and baseless, at that), but what I have described for faith here leads to a more "scientific" approach that Atheists would like to admit is operable in the minds of the faithful. The proper response to a scriptural assertion, then, becomes not blind obedience, but rather careful thought, hypothesis forming, and testing. As tests come back proven or unproven, faith will grow in the right direction until it approaches "perfect knowledge".