I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintsโa religion I love, cherish, and actively participate in. When others choose to stop participating, I feel a lonely pang, because in too many ways, I understand. I respect the decision of my friends who have stepped away.
Do I even belong here!? So why do I stay? How can I stay? My faith is more nuanced, more eager, more intimately depending on God than it once was. And while I sometimes long for the simplicity of belief that I had before, I am closer to my Heavenly Father because of it.
Faith is so intimate and personalโit comes down to me, Jesus Christ, and a loving Heavenly Father. I stay for tangible ways to access the Atonement of Jesus Christ; for very tangible ways to commune with God. I stay for a weekly sacrament. I stay for the clarity on accessing the atonementโfor the opportunities I have had to meet with Bishops over the years and work through the repentance process. I stay for temple worshipโsomething that has previously overwhelmed me, but has ultimately brought me to some of my most sacred moments and truths.
I stay for a covenant path, with a bigger picture than I can comprehend. I stay for modern-day prophets, seers, and revelatorsโthough imperfectโwho ultimately guide me to stay on this covenant path.
I stay for the thousands of ways participating in the gospel continues to sustain my marriage, my family, and myself. I stay because even though keeping the commandments and honoring my covenants requires sacrifice, they have shaped every good thing in my life.
