Let God Prevail

One of the hebraic meanings of “Israel” is “let God prevail.” We can choose for ourselves whether we are willing to let God prevail in our lives.

When we talk about gathering Israel we are showing if missionary, temple and family history work but we are also taking about helping those around us come closer to Christ.

Who might we be led to if we prayed to be led to those who are willing to let God prevail in their lives?

“I call on our members everywhere to lead out in abandoning actions and attitudes of prejudice.”

When you are determined to let God prevail in your life so many issues become non-issues.

Make a list of all the things that God had promised to do for covenant Israel.

For the more than 36 years I’ve been an Apostle, the doctrine of the gathering of Israel has captured my attention. Everything about it has intrigued me, including the ministries and names of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; their lives and their wives; the covenant God made with them and extended through their lineage; the dispersion of the twelve tribes; and the numerous prophecies about the gathering in our day.

I have studied the gathering, prayed about it, feasted upon every related scripture, and asked the Lord to increase my understanding.

So imagine my delight when I was led recently to a new insight. With the help of two Hebrew scholars, I learned that one of the Hebraic meanings of the word Israel is “let God prevail.” Thus the very name of Israel refers to a person who is willing to let God prevail in his or her life. That concept stirs my soul!

You can just HEAR his love for this concept, his excitement to study it and to share it.

The word willing is crucial to this interpretation of Israel. We all have our agency. We can choose to be of Israel, or not. We can choose to let God prevail in our lives, or not. We can choose to let God be the most powerful influence in our lives, or not.

When people around us do not choose to be of Israel that sits not mean that we treat them any worse than if they choose to be of Israel.

We can choose to be of Israel, or not. We can choose to let God prevail in our lives, or not. We can choose to let God be the most powerful influence in our lives, or not.

For a moment, let us recall a crucial turning point in the life of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. At the place Jacob named Peniel (which means “the face of God”), Jacob wrestled with a serious challenge. His agency was tested. Through this wrestle, Jacob proved what was most important to him. He demonstrated that he was willing to let God prevail in his life. In response, God changed Jacob’s name to Israel, meaning “let God prevail.” God then promised Israel that all the blessings that had been pronounced upon Abraham’s head would also be his.

This shifts my understanding of the story of Jacob’s wrestle with the angel. Also, I have wondered about Jacob having the hollow of his though out of joint. If the whole thing is metaphorical then Jacob wrestled with a challenge in prayer and was frustrated and out of joint in a crucial part of his mind in wrestling with it but he accepted what he did not want to accept and sight a blessing – refusing to let the issue go until he knew the Lord would bless him.

With the Hebraic definition of Israel in mind, we find that the gathering of Israel takes on added meaning. The Lord is gathering those who are willing to let God prevail in their lives. The Lord is gathering those who will choose to let God be the most important influence in their lives.

Not long ago, the wife of one of our grandsons was struggling spiritually. I will call her “Jill.” Despite fasting, prayer, and priesthood blessings, Jill’s father was dying. She was gripped with fear that she would lose both her dad and her testimony.

Late one evening, my wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, told me of Jill’s situation. The next morning Wendy felt impressed to share with Jill that my response to her spiritual wrestle was one word! The word was myopic.

Jill later admitted to Wendy that initially she was devastated by my response. She said, “I was hoping for Grandfather to promise me a miracle for my dad. I kept wondering why the word myopic was the one he felt compelled to say.”

After Jill’s father passed on, the word myopic kept coming to her mind. She opened her heart to understand even more deeply that myopic meant “nearsighted.” And her thinking began to shift. Jill then said, “Myopic caused me to stop, think, and heal. That word now fills me with peace. It reminds me to expand my perspective and seek the eternal. It reminds me that there is a divine plan and that my dad still lives and loves and looks out for me. Myopic has led me to God.”

I have heard people complain about President Nelson’s response in that story – claiming he was callous but they clearly miss or ignore two critical facts. First, President Nelson didn’t intend to share that with “Jill”. It was his initial response privately to his wife. She felt inspired to share it with Jill. Proof that she was lead by inspiration Congress in the second fact, that in Jill’s own words “that word now fills {her} with peace” and “led {her} to God.” They ignore the effect of that response in that case and focus on the fact that it contradicts how we would expect a prophet to respond to a concerned and challenged young relative that he cares about.

If we will allow it, there are many ways this Hebraic interpretation of Israel can help us. Imagine how our prayers for our missionaries—and for our own efforts to gather Israel—could change with this concept in mind. We often pray that we and the missionaries will be led to those who are prepared to receive the truths of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I wonder, to whom will we be led when we plead to find those who are willing to let God prevail in their lives?

We may be led to some who have never believed in God or Jesus Christ but who are now yearning to learn about Them and Their plan of happiness. Others may have been “born in the covenant” but have since wandered away from the covenant path. They may now be ready to repent, return, and let God prevail. We can assist them by welcoming them with open arms and hearts. And some to whom we may be led may have always felt there was something missing in their lives. They too are longing for the wholeness and joy that come to those who are willing to let God prevail in their lives.

How are we to respond to those we can’t let go of who are not willing to let God (or anyone) prevail with them? (I’m thinking of Isaac and Enoch at the moment.) I currently suspect that out response must be to focus on how we use our agency – especially in how we treat and think of them – and allow them to use their agency. If we are allowing God to prevail then we trust Him to know how and when they might become willing.

I grieve that our Black brothers and sisters the world over are enduring the pains of racism and prejudice. Today I call upon our members everywhere to lead out in abandoning attitudes and actions of prejudice. I plead with you to promote respect for all of God’s children.

This leaves no quarter for the attitudes displayed in DezNat.

The question for each of us, regardless of race, is the same. Are you willing to let God prevail in your life? Are you willing to let God be the most important influence in your life? Will you allow His words, His commandments, and His covenants to influence what you do each day? Will you allow His voice to take priority over any other? Are you willing to let whatever He needs you to do take precedence over every other ambition? Are you willing to have your will swallowed up in His?

These are crucial questions and no matter what the answer has been in the past we must evaluate what it is for us now.

If you are married to a companion who has broken his or her covenants, your willingness to let God prevail in your life will allow your covenants with God to remain intact. The Savior will heal your broken heart. The heavens will open as you seek to know how to move forward. You do not need to wander or wonder.

If you have sincere questions about the gospel or the Church, as you choose to let God prevail, you will be led to find and understand the absolute, eternal truths that will guide your life and help you stay firmly on the covenant path. …

When your greatest desire is to let God prevail, to be part of Israel, so many decisions become easier. So many issues become nonissues! You know how best to groom yourself. You know what to watch and read, where to spend your time, and with whom to associate. You know what you want to accomplish. You know the kind of person you really want to become.

If you are married to a companion who is willing to let their covenants fall by the wayside (as Laura was when this talk was given) the same promises apply. Willingness to let God prevail allows us to lay our burdens at His feet and bear only what He lays at our feet.

During these perilous times of which the Apostle Paul prophesied, Satan is no longer even trying to hide his attacks on God’s plan. Emboldened evil abounds. Therefore, the only way to survive spiritually is to be determined to let God prevail in our lives, to learn to hear His voice, and to use our energy to help gather Israel.

As you study your scriptures during the next six months, I encourage you to make a list of all that the Lord has promised He will do for covenant Israel. I think you will be astounded! Ponder these promises. Talk about them with your family and friends. Then live and watch for these promises to be fulfilled in your own life.

This is one of the kind of things that would go in my Conference Promises post in future conferences.