"He that is righteous is favored"

大家好！

At the request of my younger sister, I am sending out a scripture that stood out to me during my studies this week. While speaking of the Lord guiding Israel into the promised land, the prophet Nephi says:

32 And after [Israel] had crossed the river Jordan [God] did make them mighty unto the driving out of the [natives] of the land, yea, unto the scattering them to destruction. 33 And now, do ye suppose that the [natives] of this land, who were in the land of promise, who were driven out by [Israel], do ye suppose that they were righteous? Behold, I say unto you, Nay. 34 Do ye suppose that [Israel] would have been more choice than they if they had been righteous? I say unto you, Nay. 35 Behold, the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is righteous is favored of God. While the idea that God favors the righteous makes sense, these verses shocked me somewhat because I knew God had promised much to Israel, his covenant people. As I think about these verses, I realize the Lord does promise Israel a great deal of things, but they are conditional upon Israel's faithfulness in keeping the covenants which the Lord has made with them. Like ancient Israel, we can be a choice people unto God if we make and keep covenants with Him. However, we should be wary of falling into the trap that Israel so often did; believing they were a choice people, deserving of God's blessings without remembering Him and keeping their covenants with Him. God loves each and every one of you infinitely, He knows how great you can become. Choose to be righteous, choose to follow Him. If you do, surely, He will help you, and you will be favored of God. Love you all! Elder Jaxon Wardle