Revelation Upon Revelation

How do you respond when God answers your prayer with divine insight?

Hopefully, you express gratitude. Presumably, you look for ways to act upon the insight you have received. Here’s an additional thought: Ask yourself, What more does God want me to learn?

Isaiah and Nephi taught that God teaches us “line upon line, precept upon precept” (2 Nephi 28:30, Isaiah 28:10, 13). He recognizes that learning is incremental, that we can’t comprehend more profound principles until we’ve mastered the fundamentals.

An important corollary of this principle is that we’re not done yet. Every new insight is another rung on the ladder of wisdom, and there’s always another step beyond. Perhaps that’s why the Lord wants us to keep asking questions and listening for answers. In the Law of the Church, He promised:

If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.

Doctrine and Covenants 42:61

“Revelation upon revelation” conveys not only incremental insights but also divine maganimity. After quoting this passage, President Russell M. Nelson said:

Oh, there is so much more that your Father in Heaven wants you to know.

“Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” General Conference, April 2018

So when you learn something by revelation, don’t stop asking questions, and don’t stop listening.

Richard G. Scott shared a tender personal experience in which knowledge flowed freely into his mind. After carefully writing what he had learned, he was impressed to ask, “Is there yet more to be given?” In response to that prayer, he received additional insights. Again, he asked, “Is there more I should know?” By the time he completed that sacred incremental learning session, he said, “I had received some of the most precious, specific, personal direction one could hope to obtain in this life” (“To Acquire Spiritual Guidance,” General Conference, October 2009).

Today, I will choose to receive “revelation upon revelation.” When I gain a spiritual insight, I will ask, What more wouldst Thou have me know? I will keep listening, and remain teachable—trusting that God has much more to teach me.