What Is the Source of Living Water?

            My Come, Follow Me studies for this week took me to Jeremiah 1-20 and a lesson titled “Before I Formed Thee in the Belly I Knew Thee.” The lesson was introduced with the following information about Jeremiah and his mission. 

At first, Jeremiah didn’t think he would make a good prophet. “Behold, I cannot speak,” he protested when the Lord first called him (Jeremiah 1:6). The Lord reassured him, “I have put my words in thy mouth” (verse 9). Jeremiah felt that he was an inexperienced “child” (verse 6), but the Lord explained that he was actually more prepared than he realized—he had been ordained to this calling even before he was born (see verse 5). So Jeremiah set aside his fears and accepted the call. He warned Jerusalem’s kings and priests that their pretended holiness would not save them from destruction. The “child” who thought he could not speak came to feel God’s word “in [his] heart as a burning fire” and could not be silent (Jeremiah 20:9).

Jeremiah’s story is also our story. God knew us, too, before we were born and prepared us to do His work on the earth. Among other things, that work includes something Jeremiah foresaw: gathering God’s people, one by one, to “bring [them] to Zion” (Jeremiah 3:14). And even if we don’t know exactly what to do or say, we should “be not afraid …; for I am with thee, saith the Lord” Jeremiah 1:8, 19).

            The Lord taught Jeremiah that He knew him long before he was conceived on earth. We know that the Lord also knew us as we dwelled together in the pre-mortal life before we came to earth. The Lord wants us to hear His voice to guide us through this mortal life, and we can hear it in numerous ways. Elder David A. Bednar said, “One of the ways I hear [the Lord] is in the scriptures. The scriptures are the prerecorded voice of the Lord” (“’Hear Him’ in Your Heart and in Your Mind,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org). We are counseled in this lesson to be different than the ancient Israelites. If we turn to the Lord, He will bless us.

            As in all scriptural blocks, Jeremiah 1-20 contains numerous principles. The principle that I feel prompted to discuss is found in Jeremiah 2 and 7: “They have forsaken me the fountain of living waters.” The Israelites lived in an arid region, and they stored precious water in cisterns or underground reservoirs. The Lord told His prophet Jeremiah in chapter 2 verse 13:

For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

            The Lord said that the people had rejected Him – the source of Living Water – and made broken cisterns that would not hold water. Elder David A. Bednar spoke on the topic of living water in February 2007. 

Life springs from water. Life is sustained by water. Water is the medium required to perform the various functions associated with all known forms of life. Our physical bodies are approximately two-thirds water. Whereas a person can survive for many days or even weeks without food, an individual will usually die in only three or four days without water. Most of the world’s great centers of population are situated near sources of fresh water. Simply stated, life could not exist without the availability of and access to adequate supplies of clean water.

Given the vital role of water in sustaining all forms of life, the Savior’s use of the term “living water” is supernally significant….

            Elder Bednar shared the story of the Samaritan woman at the well where He asked the woman for a drink of water and told her that He could give her living water (John 4:7-14). He then said that the living water referred to in this scripture is a representation of the Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel. Just as we need water to sustain our physical bodies, “the Savior and His doctrines, principles, and ordinances are essential for eternal life.” Just as we would not live more than a few days without water to drink, we need “His living water daily and in ample supply to sustain our ongoing spiritual growth and development.”

The scriptures contain the words of Christ and are a reservoir of living water to which we have ready access and from which we can drink deeply and long. You and I must look to and come unto Christ, who is “the fountain of living waters”

(1 Nephi 11:25; compare Ether 8:26, 12:28), by reading (see Mosiah 1:5), studying (see D&C 26:1), searching (see John 5:39; Alma 17:2), and feasting (see 2 Nephi 32:3) upon the words of Christ as contained in the holy scriptures. By so doing, we can receive both spiritual direction and protection during our mortal journey. (Emphasis added.)

            Elder Bednar then taught “three basic ways or methods” that each of us can use to obtain “living water from the scriptural reservoir.” Those three ways are “(1) reading the scriptures from beginning to end, (2) studying the scriptures by topic, and (3) searching the scriptures for connections, patterns, and themes. Each of these approaches can help satisfy our spiritual thirst if we invite the companionship and assistance of the Holy Ghost as we read, study, and search.” After enlarging upon the three ways to obtain living water from the scriptures, Elder Bednar gave the following counsel:

Focusing upon such questions and studying by topic, using the Topical Guide and index to the triple combination, allow us to dig into and explore the depth of the scriptures and obtain a much richer spiritual knowledge. This approach increases the rate at which living water flows into our lives.

Both reading from beginning to end and studying by topic are prerequisites to the third basic method of obtaining living water from the scriptural reservoir. Whereas reading a book of scripture from beginning to end provides a basic breadth of knowledge, studying by topic increases the depth of our knowledge. Searching in the revelations for connections, patterns, and themes builds upon and adds to our spiritual knowledge by bringing together and expanding these first two methods; it broadens our perspective and understanding of the plan of salvation.

            Elder Bednar emphasized that “extensive formal education” or “sophistical study aids” are not necessary for such scripture study. “Any honest seeker of truth, regardless of educational background, can successfully employ these simple approaches…. We simply need to have a sincere desire to learn, the companionship of the Holy Ghost, the holy scriptures, and an active and inquiring mind.”

            I encourage you to learn to drink from the fountain of living water that is Jesus Christ. I invest time each morning in scripture study because I need the strength of the Spirit with me throughout the day. I invite you to do the same.