Why am I a member?

Why am I a member of the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints? Why have I stayed a part of this faith? President Dieter F. Uchtdorf in a recent conference of our church posed these very same questions. As I have been pondering them for the past several days I have come to a basic list of reasons why I have stayed a member my whole life and why I plan to continue in the faith forever.

There are the basic answers which I believe to be true for most members of the church such as: I have prayed for myself and received a witness through the spirit that these things are true, I believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. I believe in the power of the priesthood. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I believe in modern to day prophets. I believe in personal revelation. 

But I wanted to dig even deeper than that. Why am I personally an active and participating member of the faith? What causes me to want to keep the commandments of God? What motivates me to go to church on Sunday? What inspires me to want to partake in all the gifts and blessings that are available to me as an individual? 

First, I am an active Latter-Day saint because of the relationship I have with the Godhead. As Latter-Day Saints, we believe in God the eternal father, and in His Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. Personally over the years I have developed a personal connection with each member of the Godhead. 

To me God really is my father. When I talk with Him through prayer I honestly have felt for myself that He has given personal answers. I have been able to see His hand guiding me throughout my life. It isn't huge big miracles that have taught me that God is my Father, but it is in the small moments and details of my life when he blesses me perfectly in a way that only a God who knows us can. It is when I have prayed and told him the deepest desires of my heart and how important something is to me and He has provided proof , often through others, that He is aware. 

Jesus Christ is my personal Savior and I have felt of His redemptive power through the atonement. Unfortunately I often mess up in life in small ways, and sometimes even big ways. I have developed a relationship with Christ in this faith as I have come to study His life and teachings in the Book of Mormon, Bible and other scriptures. Not only have I felt the power of the atonement in repenting of my sins, but I have felt it in moments of deep sadness when I needed comfort such as when my father passed away. I have felt it it in moments when I was trying to forgive other people. I have felt it in daily progress as I work to become a better person. I have felt saved from myself so many times in my life. I have even felt the power of the atonement in moments of deepest joy as I have watched myself and others overcome trials, challenges, and difficulties as better and stronger than before. 

The Holy Ghost has been a personal comfort, guide, and inspiration in my life. As I take the time to study the scriptures I have felt guided to certain passages at the right time. As I go about my daily life I have felt prompted to go certain places, to avoid certain things, and to talk to certain people etc. As I have followed those promptings I have seen miracles happen. As I seek the spirits guidance I actually feel it more in my life. Its hard to express in words my gratitude for this gift! 

Second, I am an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints because I receive answers. For me the best way to learn something is to have a question. Why does that work, how does that happen, or therefore what are my favorite questions to ask. Answers have come to me and that  has been true from the very beginning of my quest of faith. 

When I knelt down and asked if the Book of Mormon was true, I received an answer. Because I learned that it was true I was able to apply that answer to another of my questions, was Joseph Smith a prophet. Since I knew the book was true I therefore had an answer that He was a prophet. 

 As I have formulated other questions and studied them out I have found answers for myself. Questions that are very deep and profound to me such as "why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?", or "what happened to my dad when he died?", or "what is God's plan for my life?" In the Book of Mormon I have found answers to these specific questions. I have found further answers as I have studied the words of modern day prophets and apostles. 

Third, I am an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints because it fills me with purpose. To me it is very challenging to complete a task if I don't understand the reason for doing it. I seek a reason behind everything. So it makes sense that I also seek a purpose in participating in church services, attending the temple, paying tithing, serving in callings, and keeping the commandments in general. 

I attend my church meetings because and attend the temple for what I feel. I feel peace there. I feel knowledge flow into my mind. I feel closer to God.I feel closer to the people around me. I feel hope in the future. I feel excited about progress in other people's lives. I feel nourished by the lessons that are taught. I feel happiness. I pay my tithing because I have seen blessings from living this principle of the gospel both temporal and spiritual gifts from God. I serve in church callings because it helps me to see people the way the Savior sees them. I serve because I honestly feel that my service does good to other people, mostly to myself. I keep the commandments because I love God. I keep them because I love the Savior. I feel that if God loved me enough to allow Christ His Son to stand for me and die for me, then I darn well better love them enough to stand up and live for them! 

To reiterate, I am an active and participating member in the Savior's church because of my relationship with the Godhead, because I receive answers, and because it fills me with purpose. I invite you to ponder why you actively participate as well, or why you don't. I know that God blesses us with questions so that we can receive answers for ourselves. I know it is true and I intend to participate fully from now until always. 

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