Hi, I'm Wade

I'm born & raised in Phoenix, Arizona. I am a husband and father of 5 boys. I love mountain bikes. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I am a manufacturing & materials reliability engineer with Motorola Networks. I have been working for 15 years in manufacturing and love it. I was born & raised in Phoenix, and once I was done with engineering school I wanted to come back here. My 5 boys and beautiful wife keep me busy with their school & sports. My boys are 9, 7, 5, 3 and 10 months. Me & my wife agree that parenting is the greatest challenge of our lives, and we feel acutely imperfect as parents, but continue to strive to support our boys. Beyond food & shelter, we believe that the greatest support they need is learning how to be good, fun-loving, hard-working kids. So we try to fill our lives with all the great things Arizona has to offer. We all love soccer. Me & my wife love to run through our neighborhood to wave at our neighbors and keep in shape. We love to wakeboard on the desert lakes whenever we can get away. We love camping in the mountains. Myself, I love to mountain bike on the endless trails in Phoenix's enormous city parks, usually in the wee hours of the morning or at night when everyone is sleeping :-)

Why I am a Mormon

I was raised in the church, in the northwest valley of the Phoenix metro area. My parents took me to church all my young life, but at some point along the way I realized that I loved the members of the church, and I loved hearing their beliefs, experiences, and stories. It was so gradual that I really can't point to one experience or activity, but I came to a realization in my teens that whatever I did in life, my life was going to be in the church, to help and serve other folks the way that I saw my parents help, love, and serve other people. As I began to study the church more in depth, especially the scriptures, I came to realize that the church is really nothing more than a giant service organization, focused on helping everyone, in or out of the church, in leading more happy, healthy, productive lives.

Personal Stories

Could you talk about your baptism?

I got baptized when I was 8, and I have the best memories - which is surprising considering how young I was. I remember trying on my white baptismal clothing, remember my Dad showing me how he would baptize me at his office desk. I remember talking with my bishop and telling him why I wanted to be baptized. I remember delaying my baptism for a few weeks so that I could be the first person baptized in our newly constructed chapel building, the first chapel in Peoria, Arizona. I remember receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost afterwards, and remember my Dad and my uncle putting their hands on my head. All wonderful memories.

How has the Book of Mormon brought you closer to God?

I don't know why or how, but when I read and study the scriptures, the Book of Mormon and the Bible, there is this power that comes into my life. I have greater peace, greater power to resist temptation, more patience in my work and at home. I'm not sure what it is, but it is totally awesome. What would I do without the scriptures?

How I live my faith

I was lucky enough to be able to serve a mission for the church, in Massachusetts, and had this amazing experience of serving others, and of teaching those not of our faith about the church. I've had all sorts of experiences, but one of the truly awesome opportunities I've had is working with our youth organization in the church, which I've been doing now for 6 years. A little love goes a long way with our youth today, and it's been such a rewarding experience. Difficult, yes! It's been quite difficult to set aside time for others from the demands of my own family and work, but with my wife and boys supporting me it's been so rewarding to see these great changes come into the lives of these young men, to see them make good choices, and to see the growth. I imagine the Lord is not done with me yet, and there will be more experiences. It will be exciting to see where this road will lead.

How is the Book of Mormon different from the Bible? How did Joseph Smith obtain the “golden plates” or Book of Mormon?

Wade answered...

The Book of Mormon is written by prophets that aren't found in the Bible, who had different experiences, in different places in the world, but that were living the exact same gospel of Jesus Christ that Moses, Isaiah, Daniel, and Paul all testified of. Joseph Smith was shown by an angel where the record was that was translated into the Book of Mormon - if you read the Intro in the Book of Mormon, it gives a great account of this.
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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.