Living water talk

*A geography lesson*

*A scripture lesson*

*Some life lessons*

The Snake River is over 1000 miles long.  It is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, and the largest North American River that empties into the Pacific Ocean.  It rises in western Wyoming near Yellowstone National Park and travels through six US states before reaching the Pacific.

The snake river flowing past the Grand Tetons

 

The Snake River flows from east to west
 across the entire state of Idaho

Shoshone Falls near Twin Falls, ID

Minidoka Dam and lake Walcott

I grew up approximately seven miles from this great river.  In 1904 engineers got the idea that if they harnessed the Snake River and built a dam (the first dam to be built on the Snake River, called Minidoka Dam located just outside Acequia, Idaho) that they could turn what was once an uninhabited sagebrush desert into bountiful farmland.  Some years later the same dam provided electrical power that currently powers the huge pumps that turn the wheel lines that water the crops.  Maybe the potatoes you will eat tonight for dinner were watered by the Snake River.

In my era, the water was delivered to the farms through a series of flumes, larger canals and finally smaller canals. Water from the mighty Snake River arrived at our forty-acre farm in Rupert once a week during the summer months.  When my dad, Earl G, got his water turn it was cause for much excitement for us children.  As our canals filled with water each week at a depth of 3-4 feet, we had wonderful fun on the bridge that divided our acreage.  We played water games on our acre home and garden lot as the six inches of water poured out of the canal on to our grass and garden.  Playing baseball, badminton, and kickball was a lot more fun in swimsuits in the irrigation water and we especially loved it when our mom and dad joined in the fun! While the farm was not our main source of income, my parents bought the farm to teach their seven children how to work and it ultimately paid for the seven of us to attend college.

I learned early that water is a powerful force.  If not used correctly, it can escape its bounds and cause expensive damage to neighboring crops, homes and equipment.  It needed to be banked, watched carefully and directed to the place where it would do the most good.  If used wisely, the irrigation water from the Snake River would turn our little farm into a green oasis where pinto beans, alfalfa and wheat grew in abundance.  My dad was careful each spring to go out into the fields and level the ground so that the water would flow to all parts of the fields. He would then attach the plow, the cultivator, the seed planter and then the harrow to prepare the fields so that the water could get to the end of each row.  He would use machinery to destroy the weeds in the fields so that the crops could flourish.  He also fertilized the crops to achieve maximum productivity. If the irrigation water couldn’t reach where it was intended to go, nothing grew.  Nothing flourished, the ground was wasted for that season and that would mean less return on the investment of time, labor and supplies at harvest time.  He was very careful to do his best to see that the water got to the end of each row.

Each of us could be likened to our 40-acre farm in Idaho.  We have been given an allotment in this life of years, circumstances, opportunities, challenges and tests.  We have come to this earth to see how we will perform and how we will grow, within our allotted acreage.  Some have been given all equipment they need to prepare their ground, others use older, less modern equipment and sometimes that equipment breaks down.  Some ground is rich and fertile and some ground takes more work. Severe weather sometimes put our crops at risk and destroys what we have worked hard to produce.  Bad years happen in farming. But we all have one thing in common.  We all get our weekly water turn when the waters from the mighty Snake River come rolling into our lives to nourish our testimonies, our faith and our commitment to Christ.  We may be distracted and go on vacation and give our water turn to another for a time.  We may let our canals fall into disrepair so that the life-giving waters won’t flow where they are intended.  How do we stay on the covenant path and make sure that our fields yield that highest possible result? 

We become true followers of Jesus Christ and we help others become true followers as well.

Living water, just like Snake River water, heals parched land.  It nourishes and sustains.  It brings peace and joy.  It grows things.  It produces beauty and life sustaining food for the soul.

Sister Kathleen Hughes gave a talk in the April 2003 General Conference called Blessed by Living Water.  I share some of her thoughts:

“We all know the story of Jesus as he was traveling from Jerusalem to his boyhood home of Nazareth.  He passed through Samaria and stopped to rest at Jacob’s ancient well.  As he was resting, a Samaritan woman approached the well.  You know the story.  When Jesus asked for a drink, she was surprised that Jew would make such a request of her.  For centuries Jews and Samaritans had considered themselves enemies.  But Christ told her that if she understood whom it was she was talking to, she would ask HIM for water, living water, water that would satisfy her thirst forever.  She didn’t understand of course, so He explained:

“Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be a well of water springing up into everlasting life” John 4: 13-14.

The Samaritan woman liked the idea of never having to drink again.  Certainly, she wouldn’t miss the daily labor of carrying the heavy water jars from the well to her home.  But when Christ testified to her that He was the Messiah and when the spirit confirmed to her that it was true, she began to comprehend that Jesus was speaking of greater truths.  She left the well water behind and hurried away to seek others who might come and listen.  I doubt at least at that point, that she fully understood, or whether we fully understand – what it means to have a wellspring of living water within us.”

The living water is the gospel of Jesus Christ; its communicator is the Holy Ghost.  A wellspring of goodness, of strength and confidence is within us, and when we listen with a feeling of trust, we are raised up.  We are healed.  We go forward with faith as we follow the Savior and his teachings.  The living water also nourishes and sustains us when we are weary, if we drink of it deeply.  Those who drink deeply not only become whole themselves, but they become a fountain to others, as one spirit nourishes and feeds another.  It may take a lifetime and longer to refine our spirits fully, but the living water is available to all.

The Samaritan woman looked into the face of Christ, listened to his voice, and recognized him at a time when most others rejected all he taught.  We know him too, or we can, if we allow His healing power, his nourishing strength, his peace and joy to flow through us like “a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

In our last stake conference President Chris Killpack, the Orem, Ut mission president gave us some good reminders of how this is to be accomplished.  He related a few ideas of how we drink deeply of the living water and become true followers of Christ.  These simple tasks will help the living water get to the end of the row in our own personal acreage.

Eight lessons learned from Elder Thomas S. Monson (in a letter Elder Monson wrote to a young boy Chris, an elementary school student:)

·      Honor God – keep his commandments

·      Say yes when asked to serve

·      Do your best

·      Work well with others

·      Others will judge the church by your actions

·      Pray to Heavenly Father for help and express thanks

·      Make the most of each day

·      Always honor your father and mother

And our good stake President in that same conference reminded us:

·      It may look like everyone is winning but you.  Keep playing!

·      In order to get to a higher place, we have to walk uphill.

·      Be a finisher.

·      One day you and I will give an accounting to the Master for how we served.

In closing – Some invitations to consider - Prepare your ground.  Help the living water get to the end of each row.  Get rid of the bad stuff. Get the right tools.  Talk to your neighbor and ask her what she is doing to get such good results on her farm. What fertilizer is she using? Share ideas. Take your water turn on schedule.  Let the living water flood your acreage and sink in deeply to your soil. Expect bad years and work hard to overcome them.  Don't get discouraged. Work hard. Pull out the weeds.  Play and have fun.  Pray for good weather.  Enjoy the harvest.  Share the bounty.  Help your neighbor.  We follow Christ by letting His living water permeate and sink deep into our lives.