By Steve Smith
Dear Chester
Ward Elders,
I hope this
message finds you well and healthy.
Last week,
during our Sunday School Zoom Meeting, Brother Brandon Grover led us in a great
discussion from the “Come, Follow Me” manual. As this was the first lesson of
2021, we shared our thoughts on the first section of the Doctrine and
Covenants, the Lord’s “Preface” to the D&C.
While not
the first of all the revelations found in the Doctrine and Covenants, it was
placed at the beginning of the book to serve as an introduction and
pronouncement to the many powerful and inspirational messages and teachings
found later in the book.
From the
“Come, Follow Me for Individuals and Families”, Section 1 declares: “it is a
‘voice of warning’ for all ‘the inhabitants of the earth’, teaching them to
repent and establish God’s ‘everlasting covenant’ (verses 4,8,22). “
I look
forward to the opportunity we have this year to study the revelations found in
the Doctrine and Covenants. While many of the sections are instructional and
provide us with the principles governing the establishment of the Lord’s
Church, many others provide us with pronouncements and voices of warning
concerning these, the Latter Days.
I hope and
pray we all can sincerely and prayerfully study this marvelous book.
For this
week’s Elder’s Quorum message, I have chosen one of the talks from the last
General Conference that struck me as inspired counsel concerning how we REALLY
need to prepare ourselves for the times that are upon us. (President Russell M.
Nelson – “Let God Prevail”.)
In light of
the events going on in our country right now, we should hold fast to the
inspired words of our prophet for guidance and comfort.
I hope you enjoy
and take heed to President Nelson’s counsel as I have. Here are portions of
that talk, with emphasis on those concepts that jumped out at me.
Let God Prevail
Are you willing to let God prevail in
your life? Are you willing to let God be the most important influence in your
life?
My dear brothers and
sisters, how grateful I am for the marvelous messages of this conference and
for my privilege to speak with you now.
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!
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.
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.
And as members of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or “latter-day covenant Israel,” we have
been charged to assist the Lord with this pivotal work. <the Gathering of
Israel>
When we speak of gathering Israel
on both sides of the veil, we are referring, of course, to missionary, temple,
and family history work. We are also referring to building faith and testimony
in the hearts of those with whom we live, work, and serve. Anytime we do
anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—to make and keep
their covenants with God, we are helping to gather Israel.
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.
The gospel net to gather scattered
Israel is expansive. There is room for each person who will fully embrace the gospel
of Jesus Christ. Each convert becomes one of God’s covenant
children, whether by birth or by adoption. Each becomes a full heir to all
that God has promised the faithful children of Israel!
Each of us has a divine potential
because each is a child of God. Each is equal in His eyes. The implications of
this truth are profound. Brothers and sisters, please listen carefully to what
I am about to say. God does not love one race more than another. His doctrine
on this matter is clear. He invites all to come
unto Him, “black and white, bond and free, male and female.”
I assure you that your standing before God is not determined by
the color of your skin. Favor or disfavor with God is dependent upon your
devotion to God and His commandments and not the color of your skin.
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.
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?
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.
Now, my dear brothers and sisters,
it takes both faith and courage to let God prevail. It takes persistent,
rigorous spiritual work to repent and to put off the natural man through the
Atonement of Jesus Christ. It takes consistent, daily effort to develop
personal habits to study the gospel, to learn more about Heavenly Father and
Jesus Christ, and to seek and respond to personal revelation.
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.
Now, how does the Lord feel about people who will let God prevail? Nephi
summed it up well: “[The Lord] loveth those
who will have him to be their God. Behold, he loved our fathers, and he
covenanted with them, yea, even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and he remember[s]
the covenants which he [has] made.” (1 Nephi 17:40)
And what is the Lord willing
to do for Israel? The Lord has
pledged that He will “fight [our] battles, and [our] children’s battles, and
our children’s children’s [battles] … to the third and fourth generation”!
(D&C 98:37)
As you study your scriptures during the next six months <the
next General Conference>, 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.
His name. Of this I testify in the
sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
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