LIVING WATER

(I wrote this 9 February 2003)

Today I had a special experience during the passing of the Sacrament.  As I sat there, thinking about the Savior, and of His shedding His blood for us, great waves of gratitude filled my soul.

Then I thought of his conversation with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, when he told her that He could give her Living Water so that she would never thirst again.  I pondered about the Savior’s use of symbols, and started thinking about the significance of water as a symbol.

My mind was flooded with thoughts like: We are about 65% water and every cell in our bodies must have water to function or it dies.  A hot shower or bath brings such soothing comfort, as does a cold glass of water on a hot day.  Water has power to cleanse, whether it is the simple washing of our hands, or the profound cleansing of our sins by baptism.

  Water has sound—from the sweet burble of ripples in a stream to the thundering roar of Niagara Falls.

Beautiful reflections on water are a feast to our eyes—whether from a sunset, a sunrise, or the color turquoise in a rain puddle.  A feeling of thanksgiving washes over me as I bring a glass of sparkling pure water to my lips.   Without it nothing grows, lives.

Without water there is parched ground and famine in the land.  Without the Savior’s Living Water there is a parched spirit and famine in our hearts.  But there is His promise—a never-ending supply of this Living Water!

To my wonder, Bishop Poston got up to speak right after the Sacrament, and began talking about the symbolism in water!  He spoke of a recent experience on the Salt Lake City Temple block, when he heard and watched the water from the upper fountain flowing in a noisy, zig-zag course toward the Temple.

He likened our lives to that erratic course—ebbing and flowing, sometimes noisy and confused, taking lots of twists and turns as we work our way through life, ever closer to partaking of the symbol of eternal life, the temple.

Then there is the great, calm, oval reflecting pool in front of the temple, symbolizing the temple experience itself.  But he found as he got closer, the water, although calm, was actually moving, flowing over the edges in fluid peacefulness, just as temple work is constantly revitalizing the lives of others.

There would be stagnation if there was no movement.  So too, in our lives.