My ‘Why’ of Choosing to Stay

By Scarlet Bushman
@sparkgoodness

Why. Such a little word but often the key to unlocking needed answers. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the word why is a very versatile word!

Why can be an Adverb: for what cause, reason, or purpose.

Why can be a Conjunction: the cause, reason, or purpose for which.

Why can be a Noun: reason, cause, enigma.

Why can be an Interjection: mild surprise, hesitation, impatience.

It is most used as an adverb to find the cause or reason for something. 

In the past two years since the 2020 Covid 19 pandemic, I have had the question “why do you stay in the church” asked more times than in the previous twenty-five years of my church membership.  A worldwide pandemic makes you really look at your life with a new perspective. It forces you to pause, examine  and evaluate your priorities, goals, and values. 

I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and I choose to stay an active and involved member of this church. Why? Oh there are so many reasons! But here are a few of my whys: 

Peace

When the world literally stopped in early 2020, there were many sources of information. The news was full of speculation on what would happen next. Experts in every field gave their opinion on how life would change for us, economically, physically, socially, spiritually, intellectually, etc. There was a lot of confusion. Spring gave way to summer and more chaos, more pushing and pulling in different directions. Throughout all of this, the Gospel of Jesus Christ was the only thing that brought me peace. When I didn’t know what to do, I looked toward my church leaders, listening to them closely during General Conference. I felt so much peace at their messages of faith and hope for the future. The Come Follow Me program was focusing on the Book of Mormon that year and reading the lessons in this sacred book filled me with peace in the worldly storm that was raging. I value peace. I crave it. I need it. Being a member of this Church allows me to feel peace continually. No matter what is happening in the world, I know that God is in charge, that he is aware of us, and that his church is being led by a living Prophet.

Hope

My oldest son received his mission call in 2020. Sending a child out into the world to preach the gospel is hard.  You would think that sending him during a pandemic would be even more difficult. However, all I could feel was hope. God’s work was still moving forward. His servants were still being sent out to preach his word. We had the incredible blessing of having an at home MTC experience. For six weeks we had the privilege of seeing our son become a missionary. I was able to be his companion on several occasions. I saw the change that came over our three younger children as they too lived the missionary rules to make our home a true training center for our missionary. Throughout all of this, hope filled my heart. Temples were closed, church was at home, school was in person every other day, but one thing was constant: the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His commandments didn’t change, His love was the same, His message of peace and hope were there as they had always been and will always be.

Knowledge

Experience gives us knowledge we sometimes cannot receive any other way. I am a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I have lived a life where I knew God as an omnipotent being, all knowing and all seeing; where I knew Jesus Christ as my Savior, heaven was real and the adversary our enemy. But all this knowledge did not answer the question of Why am I here? This Why filled my being and I felt compelled to find the answer. 

When I was sixteen, I spent a year going to church with friends, asking questions of everyone who believed differently than me. All these questions only led to more questions and no real answers. At the age of seventeen I met two missionaries who were more than happy to answer all my questions. It was then that I came to know God as my Father in Heaven, I learned of His plan for us. The “why am I here” was no longer a question, I now knew the answer. I have lived life with and without this gospel. I know that life is better with it. 

Why. This word led me to search. It led me to answers. Why do I choose to stay? Because of the peace, hope and knowledge that I am a daughter of God and I am an integral part of His plan.

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