30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have. 31 Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.
32 Wo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of Hosts! For notwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to day, they will deny me; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts.
2 Nephi 28:30-32 (Emphasis mine)
10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
Isaiah 28:10, 13 (Emphasis mine)
2 I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;
Isaiah 65:2 (Emphasis mine)
21 But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.
Romans 10:21 (Emphasis mine)
The Lord has a way he will teach us. He doesn’t give us everything at once. We get knowledge “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.” We start with a foundation of basic knowledge. Once we have that foundation, we begin to build on it. As we build on our basic knowledge, we gain knowledge that is more complex. We continue learning and continue gaining a greater knowledge of the things of God. The Lord then tells us that, if we “hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel … unto him that receiveth I will give more.”
Roger Porter explains this principle.
“… [T]ruth is revealed incrementally. The Lord has outlined the process by which he reveals truth and by which we learn wisdom … It is a process that rewards patience and persistence. We learn wisdom by moving through levels of understanding. Advancing to a new level requires desire and effort, openness and receptivity. Learning is an experience more like climbing a mountain than jumping a ditch. It occurs step by step.” [1] (Emphasis mine)
Dilworth B. Parkinson addresses the idea of we have enough and need no more.
“I would like to summarize the doctrine of ‘line upon line’ in this way: Even after we receive a testimony of the gospel, our understanding of it is incomplete—according to Brigham Young, woefully so. Even after years of Primary and Sunday School classes, scripture reading, and missionary service, our understanding is still not perfect … we feel that we know the gospel quite well, and it can be hard for us to imagine something about the gospel that we don't know. We don't expect there to be another hidden law of tithing waiting for us just around the corner or some as-yet-secret law of sacrifice. We've had at least thirty Sunday School lessons on faith, and we didn't hear anything new in the last twenty. What is there left to learn?
“Well, according to the line-upon-line doctrine, we are not yet native speakers of the gospel. Even though we may have developed some gospel fluency, there is a huge gulf between where we are now and where we could and should be. How can this be? I believe there are at least a couple of ways that we can conceive of.
“… We may know the basics but may not see all the deeper connections both between specific doctrines and how the gospel is an interconnected whole.
“… [T]here may be ways of understanding the gospel that are beyond what might be called knowing-that understanding—ways involving action, commitment, and the heart. These cannot really be explained or grasped intellectually but give a kind of clarity that must be experienced to be understood—a true ‘knowing how.’ We may be able to explain love, sacrifice, selflessness, justice, and mercy but still may have only the most primitive understanding of them, since we have not yet found a way to bring these principles into actual practice in our lives. We know them in a sense—just like I know those Arabic grammar rules—but we don't consistently do them, and our doing of them is ‘monitored’ and ’forced’; we are not yet proficient ‘speakers’ of the gospel.
“We won't, in fact, know the gospel fully until it is deep wired, "written in our hearts" (2 Corinthians 3:2—3; see also Jeremiah 31:33), incorporated so deeply into our being that living it is as natural as breathing—so that nothing can come out of us that is not in accord with it.” [2] (Emphasis mine)
Next, Nephi(1) tells us that those who say, “We have enough, from them shall be taken away event hat which they have.” Alma(2) told Zeezrom that “…he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word …” (Alma 12:10).
Alma(2) made this point to Zeezrom. He explained that “he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full” (Alma 12:10).
When Christ was interpreting the parable of the sower, he tells us that “…whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.” (Luke 8:18).
We are reminded not to place our trust in man instead of the Lord. “Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man.” The Lord has warned us that “… weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh—“ (D&C 1:19).
Paul tells us that “[t]here is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1). He also reminds us that we “… worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” (Philippians 3:3).
Nephi(1) rejoiced that “… I have trusted in thee, and I will rust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.” (2 Nephi 4:34).
There is, however, one time when we are allowed to put our trust in the “precepts of men.” That is when it is given by the power of the Holy Ghost. The precept comes from the Lord. The Lord is constantly lengthening his reach to man. He extends his arm “all the day long.” It is there for us, to lead us as we travel along our paths in life.
Jacob, Nephi(1)’s brother, taught that “…[the Lord] stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long … as many as will not harden their hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of God.” (Jacob 6:4).
Ann Madsen explain the idea of the Lord’s outstretched hand.
“Many times in the scriptures, we read of the Lord's outstretched hand or arm. It serves as a metaphor both for his forbearance and for his invitation to come to him. Nephi reports the Lord's assurance that ‘mine arm is lengthened out all the day long’ (2 Nephi 28:32). We find such references scattered throughout Isaiah's writings. ‘His anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still’ (Isaiah 9:12, 17). In his prophecies that hand is sometimes extended in anger and a moment later in mercy, but always in love. There is a sense that God is reaching for us even when we are turning away. His outstretched hand offers us his continuing covenant of peace.” [3] (Emphasis mine)
[1] Of Convictions and Commitments, Roger B. Porter, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed January 9, 2012.
[2] We Have Received, and We Need No More, Dilworth B. Parkinson, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed January 9, 2012.
[3] "His Hand Is Stretched Out Still": The Lord's Eternal Covenant of Mercy, Ann N. Madsen, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed January 9, 2012.
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