Living Water

I listened to this talk by Elder Bednar the other day.  He focuses on how to use a variety of techniques and patterns of scripture study to partake of the "living water" that Christ talks about in John 4:6-15.  Living Water is a symbol of Christ himself.

6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

What does it mean to "never thirst" if we drink of the Savior's living water?  In the eternal sense, Jesus is speaking about the eternal life that is promised to those that believe in Him (John 3:15-17).  That's a promise by itself that is worth looking toward.

The Gospel and Doctrine of Christ have current applications for our temporal well beings as well.  Christ's Living Water is available to us now, and is designed to support us in this life.  The water "springs up" to everlasting life, and in doing so can quench our thirst immediately.

This life is full of dry spells that result in thirst.  The trials we face do make us thirsty, which ought to lead us back to the source of living water that is constantly available and springing up for us.

We are here to learn.  The fallen nature of the world gives us plenty of opportunity to learn as we encounter wickedness, sin, folly--both our own and the choices of others.  Christ offers us the Living Water that enables us to overcome those trials, and to be happy and hopeful now in the midst of all the hardships that the world constantly offers and forces upon us.

Eternal Life is a wonderful thing to look forward to.  But I am most happy that Christ has drawn for me the water that is always available to me in a thirst-inducing world.  As I learn through trials to turn to him, that is what it means to never thirst.

Overcoming obstacles

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are mostly about the efforts of the Jews to rebuild a temple and build a wall around the city.  It takes decades, and many people conspire to stop their progress.  Check out these chapter headings:

Ezra 1: King Cyrus of Persia lets the Jews go back to Jerusalem to build the temple—Cyrus returns the vessels of the house of the Lord taken by Nebuchadnezzar. Ezra 2: Faithful people contribute to the building of the temple. Ezra 3: The altar is rebuilt—Regular sacrifices are reinstituted—The foundations of the temple are laid amid great rejoicing. Ezra 4: The Samaritans offer help, then hinder the work—The building of the temple and of the walls of Jerusalem ceases. Ezra 5: Zerubbabel renews the building of the temple—The Samaritans challenge the Jews’ right to continue their building work. Ezra 6: Darius renews the decree of Cyrus to build the temple—It is finished and dedicated, and sacrifices and feasts commence again. Nehemiah 2: Artaxerxes sends Nehemiah to Jerusalem—Sanballat and others oppose Nehemiah in rebuilding the walls and gates of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 4: The Jews’ enemies seek to prevent them from rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem—Nehemiah arms the laborers and keeps the work progressing. Nehemiah 6: Sanballat engages in intrigue against Nehemiah and the building of the wall—The Jews finish the construction of the wall.

According to this lesson plan, the period of these two books spans 100 years.

The lesson that I take from this is that the Lord does prepare ways to accomplish his commandments, even in the face of tremendous difficulty and seeming impossibility.  Yet with patience and faith, if we persevere, we will discover what the Lord's ways are, and according to His schedule, we can overcome all obstacles and fulfill His commandments.