"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" (2 Nephi 28:30)

At the young age of 43 I have started taking piano lessons again (I stopped taking them about the age of 15). It has been fun, challenging, and insightful. I have been working on a couple of pieces for about 2-3 months now. They have been pieces that I have had to practice, sometimes, measure by measure. It has been difficult, but so rewarding! As I have done this kind of practicing I have come to understand more about various principles the Lord is trying to teach me in my life. I will share a couple of them here.

When I first started taking I was not able to sit down and play these two pieces with no mistakes. In fact, I couldn't play them all the way through without making many, many mistakes and going incredibly slow. This kind of practicing, taking one measure at a time, and then a couple, and then a complete line has led me to see and understand more about the scripture in 2 Nephi 28:30. It reads:

"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 then that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have".

As I have practiced "line upon line" it has been amazing to me the clarity of playing that has happened. Some days after having practiced a section over and over I think I have it perfect, but the next day, I play it and make many mistakes. But that practice hasn't been wasted. In fact, I have found that it affects other pieces I practice as well. I am able to do other pieces or read music better. As I have practiced these pieces, it hasn't been an instant success, but I am moving forward, learning, and enjoying the progress I am making. Elder Marvin J. Ashton said: "Remind yourself that striving can be more important than arriving. If you are striving for excellence-if you are trying your best day by day with the wisest use of your time and energy to reach realistic goals-you are a success" (A Woman of Faith). 

When I was a teenager and quit practicing and taking lessons, it was like I was saying, I "have enough", and seriously, all those years of playing and practicing slowly went away. By the time I was 21 and was asked to play the piano on my mission for various meetings, I couldn't play the Hymns well enough on my own. I was often only able to play one hand and someone else would play the other hand. This is not only true with practicing the piano, it is also the same with truth and light. When we continue practicing daily living of the Gospel, we do receive more light until we are filled with light (see D&C 88:67). 

What a wonderful blessing to be able to learn and be given "line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little" rather than needing to have it all learned the instant we sit down to play. We are loved and watched over by a loving Heavenly Father who will give us and lead us along and we will, through our daily practice, learn wisdom. What rewards await us as we do our part a little at a time, diligently, and honestly. Life is truly a joyful melody as we learn "line upon line".