27 Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no more!…
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.
Nephi reminds us in these verses of Isaiah’s teaching: “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little” (Isaiah 28:10). One implication of this principle is that we need to be patient: we can’t assume that we’ll learn everything at once.
Another implication, as Nephi points out in these verses, is that we shouldn’t be too impressed with the knowledge we’ve already gained. A truly wise man recognizes and accepts truth when he sees it. The foolish man, in contrast, is so so concerned with maintaining his status as an “educated man,” that he shuts himself off from the vulnerability of acknowledging that he still has more to learn.
Today, I will remember that we all learn “line upon line, precept upon precept.” I will be grateful for the truths I have already learned, and I will be open to new knowledge which builds upon the knowledge I have already received.
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