--- title: Let God Prevail date: 2025-11-10T08:48:00-07:00 author: Matt Bloomfield canonical_url: "https://www.mlj.one/church/talks/let-god-prevail" section: Blog --- [ ← Church Talks ](https://www.mlj.one/church/talks) Talk November 10, 2025 # Let God Prevail I gave this talk on Father's day, June 15, 2025 in the Snowflake 6th Ward Sacrament Meeting at the historic Main Street Chapel in Snowflake, Arizona, per an assignment from President Todd Burk. . --- Good morning, brothers and sisters. I am grateful to be with you on this blessed Father’s Day and to have the opportunity to speak with my father. In his typical fashion, when I told him of my last-minute need for a companion speaker, he stepped up. Before I jump into my topic, I wanted to share a message from President Nelson about today. I’ve spoken recently about the need for peacemakers. On this Father’s Day I feel gratitude for all the fathers who act as peacemakers in their homes and communities. My own father was an example of this during my childhood. And I have tried my very best to carry over his righteous influence into my own family, which now includes hundreds of people—each of whom I love dearly! Fathers, as you become peacemakers in your homes, you can literally thwart the influence of the adversary. As you demonstrate the charity that true followers of Jesus Christ manifest, the Lord will magnify your efforts beyond your loftiest imagination. I know that he is a prophet of God. I know we will come closer to our Savior and our Father in Heaven as we heed his instructions. In a 2020 General Conference Talk, President Nelson taught us about his intrigue surrounding the lives, scattering, and the gathering of Israel. It was clear that this was a subject he had spent many years fasting and praying to understand. I remember him being almost giddy as he excitedly shared the insight he had gained while studying with a Hebrew scholar, that the name “Israel” can be translated as, “Let God Prevail.” ### Etymology of the Phrase I was curious about this definition, especially since “prevail” is not a word we often use and I didn’t feel like I fully understood. So firstly, Prevail, according to the dictionary, means: 1. **prove more powerful than opposing forces; be victorious:** ***"it is hard for logic to prevail over emotion"*** - be widespread in a particular area at a particular time; be current: "an atmosphere of crisis prevails" - *(prevail on/upon)* persuade (someone) to do something: "she was prevailed upon to give an account of her work" The name “Israel” **יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisra'el)** in Hebrew is commonly understood to come from: - **"Sarah" (שָׂרָה)** — to struggle, strive, or prevail - **"El" (אֵל)** — God So the traditional translation is: **"He who struggles with God"** or **"God contends"** or **"He who prevails with God"** **Interpretation****Source****Meaning**He who strives with GodTraditional HebrewWrestling or struggling with divine willHe who prevails with GodGenesis 32:28Victory or endurance in divine testingLet God prevailPresident Nelson (LDS)Submitting our will to God’sJacob was given this name in Genesis 32, wherein the Lord references its meaning, “And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but **Israel**: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” — *Genesis 32:28, KJV* Given that today is Father’s Day, I felt prompted to take the opportunity to combine this topic with my own life and talk about a time when I have, “Let God Prevail”. ### Uncertainty, Decisions, and Prayer In 2020 my wife and I were happily living in beautiful Virginia. A few years previous to that, I had taken a job working in DC for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce which had taken us from our previous home of Provo, Utah. We owned a house and were in the midst of renovations, loved our neighborhood, and felt like our ward was our extended family. When the pandemic hit, everything changed. The lockdowns were very strict: no time spent with friends, police would monitor the number of cars in your driveway and break up any types of gathering, public parks were shut down. It was a very difficult time, especially as a family with young kids. At some point, toward the end of the year, in preparation for an eventual return to work, my job issued guidance that you could choose one of three futures in a post-COVID landscape. 1. Return to work 100% in office 2. Work hybrid, meaning you were in office 3x/week 3. Full remote. If you chose the “remote” option they put an important caveat - you could no longer live in the DC Metropolitan Area. While we loved Virginia, the draconian approach to COVID policies had changed our desire to call it home. As real estate prices soared we quickly finished renovating our home, sold it, and moved into my in-laws basement apartment in Northern Utah. Our thinking, when we moved there, was that we would live with them for a few months as we figured out our next step. With our growing family, we felt the need to find a place to settle down and also feel confident the Lord supported our decision. We knew we wanted a house on some land and in a semi-rural area, but we weren’t sure where that should be. Weekend after weekend we explored different places. Coeur d’Alene Idaho, Rexburg, Logan, Cedar City, Morgan, Moab, Bozeman Montana - we talked to everyone we met, plenty of real estate agents, and yet, nothing felt right. We fasted. We prayed. We fasted again. Months went by and we started to get discouraged. Finally, after a visit to a small town in Montana, my wife was recounting everything she loved about the area, just wishing it was a bit warmer. It hit me at that moment, “Everything you are describing is also true of Snowflake, Arizona.” I had, afterall, lived here while I was in High School, and my parents still lived here. But therein lies the problem. I knew my wife had no desire to move to her husband’s previous hometown - and when I say no desire, I mean she, at one point early in our marriage, broke down in tears while visiting Snowflake begging me to never make her move here. When Jenni tells about this experience of discovering where to live, she talks of a process that starts with excitement, then frustration, then desperation, then humility, and then a very clear answer. Imagine my surprise when *she* came to *me* telling me she finally received an answer on where to move, and it was Snowflake! An answer! But not the one we had wanted. Looking back, I feel this was the time we needed more faith than ever. Was there anyone our age in little Snowflake? Would we find friends? Would our kids be the only ones in Primary? In the few times we’d attended my parents’ ward through the years it didn’t seem to tick any of those boxes. We put our trust in the Lord, and, after 10 months of living with my in-laws, we finally moved to Snowflake, Arizona and built a house. (COULD GO LONGER HERE ABOUT BUILDING THE HOUSE AND THE TRIAL OF FAITH IT WAS TO GET STARTED - GOING TO THE TEMPLE AND RECEIVING AN ANSWER) I bear my firm witness that when we let the Lord prevail in our lives he will bring us more happiness than we could ever imagine. Since moving here we have been so blessed with deep, meaningful friendships for both us and our kids. The relationship with my parents has become a deep and abiding source of joy for both me and my wife, and our children have absolutely thrived. I could go on and on about the many blessings we have received and I attribute every one of them to that decision to Let God Prevail. President Nelson reminds us: 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. ### Marital Mayhem in Manhattan Another, small experience, if I may. A few days ago my wife and I happened to be in Manhattan for business. While there, we wanted to see a Broadway show together on Wednesday night. We set a budget and had a plan for getting the tickets day-of. On Tuesday, my wife texted me about some tickets she found at the box office but they were partial view, and the full-view tickets were more than 3x our budget. I was in meetings, so I told her I trusted her to do what she felt was best. Later, she reported that she found some tickets that were in the upper balcony but were closer to our budget. I was so frustrated - I felt we should have waited and gotten better tickets - she felt that if we didn’t purchase them then we’d not see the show at all. I’m sure none of you have these experiences, but our relationship was feeling a bit tense. That night, we talked it over. It was sensitive, feelings were close to the surface, but we humbly explained our points of view and why we felt the way we did. I thanked her for her thoughtfulness in buying the tickets, and she apologized for panicking. The next day, as we got into the theater, we were confused as they guided us toward great seats on the orchestra level. It made no sense. These were not the seats we thought we had purchased. My wife and I turned to each other and both felt that the Lord had prevailed. I want to bear my testimony that the Lord is aware of each of us and he wants to help us in our lives, our relationships, and our marriages. He can bring us greater happiness than we ever thought was possible if we will trust him to prevail. I know that He is our Savior, and that He prevailed on the cross so that we can come and live with Him again. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.