27 Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and
we need no more!
28 And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble, and are
angry because of the truth of God! For behold, he that is built upon the rock
receiveth it with gladness; and he that is built upon a sandy foundation
trembleth lest he shall fall.
29 Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the
word of God, and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough!
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.
The day will come when some will proclaim, “We have received, and we need no more” (2 Nephi 28:27). They will claim they know all they needed to know; they have read all they needed to read. When additional knowledge from the Lord comes their way, they will reject it.
When confronting Zeezrom, Alma2 told him, “[T]hey
that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word
until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken
captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction…” (Alma 12:10-11).
During his ministry to the Nephites, the Savior also made
this principle clear. “And when they
shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to
try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things
then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them. And if it so be that they will not believe
these things, then shall the greater things be withheld from them, unto their
condemnation” (3 Nephi 26:9-10).
Whenever I read this scripture, I always think of the
critics of the Church. They claim we
need nothing more than the Bible. They
refuse to accept the Lord would speak to man today. Researching this post, I came across a
different perspective. Dilworth
Parkinson applies this scripture to us as members of the Church. His observations hit the nail on the head.
“I'm not sure he is just referring to nonmembers and
nonbelievers when he said this, however. I wonder if he also isn't referring to
me as I sit in Sunday School class with one more lesson on faith wondering what
more I could possibly learn about faith. No matter how much progress we have
made, no matter what line we're on, we need more. We need a firmer witness, a
clearer and deeper understanding, and a more practical, heart-changing
incorporation of almost any gospel principle we could contemplate. If we are
satisfied with where we are, if we are pretty sure we have the whole thing
figured out, we are in effect saying: ‘We have received, and we need no more.’
The point of this life is to grow and progress, to become something so
unbelievably far from where we are now that it almost seems ridiculous to
contemplate. Learning the language of the gospel to the point of real native
fluency—just like learning a foreign language as an adult—is difficult and can
seem impossible when we contemplate the gulf between where we are and where we
want to be. But God has given us a way to do it, and if what Brigham Young says
is right, we get to it a little at a time by consistently working at it
throughout our lives until the gospel gradually—and through his grace—becomes a
part of us, truly ‘written in our hearts,’ one line at a time.”
I find it interesting how people react to the truth. When hearing the truth, many rejoice and
accept the word of God. On the other
hand, many get angry when they hear the truth.
Following up on Parkinson’s quote, this includes members of the Church.
As he ended his record, Nephi wrote:
“And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for
the gain of my people. “And the words
which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them; for it
persuadeth them to do good; it maketh known unto them of their fathers; and it
speaketh of Jesus, and persuadeth them to believe in him, and to endure to the
end, which is life eternal.
“And it speaketh harshly against sin, according to the
plainness of the truth; wherefore, no man will be angry at the words which I
have written save he shall be of the spirit of the devil” (2 Nephi 33:4-5).
In the days the Lord will reveal His word to us, there will
be those who will reject it. Why? “We have received the word of God and we need
no more the word of God, for we have enough” (2 Nephi 28:29). This is a common complaint against the Church
and our acceptance of continuing revelation.
“We believe … all that [God] does now reveal, and we believe that He
will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of
God” (Articles of Faith 1:9). Verse 29
is almost a direct quote of those who reject continuing revelation – “we have
enough!”
When Moroni2 was sealing the record that
contained the brother of Jared’s vision of the history of the world, he quoted
the word of the Lord. “[H]e that will
contend against the word of the Lord, let him be accursed; and he that shall
deny these things, let him be accursed; for unto them will I show no greater
things, saith Jesus Christ; for I am he who speaketh” (Ether 4:8).
Nephi informs us how the Lord works. He does not give us everything at once. We learn “line upon line, precept upon
precept, here a little and there a little” (2 Nephi 29:30). This is how we learn. This is how I approach a unit when teaching
my students. I begin with the
basics. After I’m satisfied my students
understand the basics, then we begin dealing with the higher concepts. The times I don’t do this, my students don’t
understand the unit, and I have to go back and re-teach.
The Lord gives all people His word and principles. Those that accept, learn, and understand His
words will receive more. He says to
those who say “we have enough,” “from them shall be taken away even that which
they have” (2 Nephi 28:30). During His
ministry, the Savior made this point clearly.
“Take heed therefore how ye hear: for 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).
Alma2 told Zeezrom, “And therefore, he that will
harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and 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).
Hugh Nibley explains this concept.
“Implicit and explicit in the concept of a gospel taught by
degrees instead of all at once—"line upon line, precept upon precept, here
a little, and there a little" (2 Nephi 28:30)—is the idea that the most
important, the highest, and the holiest teachings come last. This is
the exact opposite of the reasoning of the Christian world today, that the most
important teachings must have come first, so that everything essential is
known, while anything that may have escaped is not really vital. Few would dispute
that the higher and holier a teaching is, the fewer are qualified to hear it:
One need only recall the Lord's practice of discussing ‘the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven’ only with his disciples behind closed doors, and of
selecting only a few chosen apostles to share in the still greater mysteries
such as the transfiguration. All Christians, indeed, agree that the most
glorious manifestations are reserved for the end. But the importance of a
teaching is not measured by its depth and wonder but by the particular need of
the person receiving it. God does give people at all times what are for
them the most important teachings that could possibly be given.”[1]
We must choose whom we will trust. There is man.
There is the Lord. The Lord makes
clear what the consequences of that choice are.
Those who put their trust in the arm of flesh are cursed. The Lord said, “The 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—But that every man
might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world” (D&C
1:19-20).
The Lord revealed to Nephi, “Forasmuch as this people draw
near unto me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have
removed their hearts far from me, and their fear towards me is taught by the
precepts of men—“ (2 Nephi 27:25). Those
that choose to hearken unto the Lord will be given them through the Holy Ghost.
The Lord will always reach out to the Gentiles, but they
will deny Him. Even so, He will show
them mercy. They must repent and come
unto Him.
Jacob told the Nephites, “And how merciful is our God unto
us, for he remembereth the house of Israel, both roots and branches; and he
stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long; and they are a
stiffnecked and a gainsaying people; but as many as will not harden their
hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of God” (Jacob 6:4).
During His ministry to the Nephites, the Savior told them, “But
wo, saith the Father, unto the unbelieving of the Gentiles—for notwithstanding
they have come forth upon the face of this land, and have scattered my people
who are of the house of Israel; and my people who are of the house of Israel
have been cast out from among them, and have been trodden under feet by them” (3
Nephi 16:8).
[1] "…But
Unto Them It Is Not Given" Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute.
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