I grew up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also known as Mormons. My family has been members for generations, since the church was established in the mid 1800s. I liked church growing up, I believed in what I was taught.

When I got to be an adult, I started to ask myself questions. Why was I a member of this church? I’ve never been dissatisfied with my faith: I wasn’t asking myself to solve a spiritual dilemma. But I did want to know why generations before me joined and stayed active in the church, and define why I also wanted to stay.

My church, like all Christian churches, centers on Jesus Christ. I have known my Savior, and feel my testimony of Him is strengthened by the teachings of my church. But I also believe I could have still gained a testimony of Him through any number of good Christian faiths.

While studying, I found a theological answer of why I should stay in this church and not another. The first answer is priesthood, and the second is Eternal Family.

1)Priesthood: My father and my husband have priesthood lineage lines that traces their priesthood ordination back to Jesus Christ. Most lines go back through fathers and grandpas and then meet up with Joseph Smith, who was ordained to the priesthood by Peter, James and John, who were ordained by Christ. In other words, the priesthood is authority and power that can be traced directly to Christ. We are Christ’s church, and we act under the direction of Him, directly through priesthood power received by Him.

2)Eternal Family: When I married my husband, the officiator did not say until death do you part. He married me for eternity. I have assurance that my family will be a family even after we die. This comes not from a desire for it to happen, but an assurance that through the priesthood we are bound together in the Lord’s way.

Ultimately, the real reason I go to church thought, is I believe it is where the Lord wants me. Every other reason is secondary to that. The church has brought me blessings, the greatest of which is a personal relationship with God and Christ. I want to continue that relationship, and so I remain where I believe He wants me to go.