To Be a Greater Follower of Righteousness

Abraham 1–2; Genesis 12: What It Means to Follow

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There's a phrase that threads through Abraham's story quietly, almost unnoticed: "I will bless thee."

God says it four times in Genesis 12 alone. To modern ears it sounds like a promise about prosperity. But in the ancient covenant world, "I will bless you" meant something far more concrete: I will be with you. I will protect you. I will make your life mean something.

Abraham receives this promise at the worst possible moment—when he's uprooted from home, when his family is dysfunctional, when his culture is sinking into idolatry. God doesn't call Abraham because his life is in order. He calls Abraham precisely when everything is falling apart.

That's worth sitting with.

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The Costs of Righteousness

In Abraham 1, we find something that rarely makes it into Sunday School: Abraham's father tried to have him sacrificed on an altar. The religious leaders of Ur, devoted to false gods, saw Abraham's faith as a threat. And they had the power to act on that threat.

Abraham doesn't survive because he's spectacular. He survives because God intervenes. And then, immediately afterward, God tells him to leave.

Righteousness, in this story, isn't reward. It's a calling that costs something. Abraham leaves the familiar. He walks toward a promise he can't yet see. He acts on faith before he has proof.

Brigham Young taught: "The man who rises early, who attends to his prayers, who does his duty in all things, who is honest and faithful, is building on a foundation that cannot be shaken."

That foundation isn't comfort. It's covenant.

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The Pattern of the Covenant

When God establishes the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis 12 and Abraham 2, He lays out a pattern the Restoration helps us understand:

• I will make of thee a great nation — posterity, both physical and spiritual
• I will bless thee — divine protection and presence
• In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed — mission, not just personal privilege

This last point is critical. The covenant isn't for Abraham's personal benefit alone. He's being blessed so that others can be blessed through him. Righteousness has an outward direction. It flows toward others.

The Book of Abraham adds something Genesis doesn't: Abraham is shown the premortal council. He's told that he was chosen before this life. His righteousness isn't an accident—it's a continuation of who he was before he came here.

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Living the Covenant Today

President Nelson has called our day a time when we must "gather Israel on both sides of the veil." Abraham's covenant is still active—through temple ordinances, through missionary work, through families choosing to follow God even when it's costly.

Righteousness, then, isn't self-improvement. It's participation in something eternal. When you choose to follow—to pray, to covenant, to serve—you're doing what Abraham did. You're picking up your end of a promise that spans generations.

The question isn't whether righteousness is worth the cost. The question is: what are you building when you choose it?

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Open Your Come Follow Me Manual

The manual this week invites you to consider what it means to "be a greater follower of righteousness" (Abraham 1:2). That phrase is Abraham's own description of what he sought. Let the Spirit show you what following righteousness looks like for you specifically this week.

Come Follow Me Manual – Week 8