Meeting the Savior at the Well

Good morning, dear friends. It’s a blessing to be with you at Ensign College today.

Meeting the Savior at the Well

I’d like to begin with a simple thought. Imagine a seemingly ordinary day in your life—a day filled with normal routines, hundreds of small decisions, and what you might normally call the mundane.

Now suppose that unbeknownst to you, during the course of that ordinary day, you would come to a place of meeting and have an encounter with no ordinary man, but with Jesus Christ. Can you imagine what that would mean for your life and for your eternal journey to have such an experience with the Savior?

Hundreds of years ago, in the heat of mid-day, a woman made her way to Jacob’s well in Samaria. She came alone, carrying her water jar to be filled and her mortal experiences up to that point. What she did not know was that her ordinary errand would become one of the most sacred encounters in scripture. And, for me, so much of her layered conversation with Jesus Christ teaches us about the plan of salvation and our life here in mortality.

In the New Testament, John chapter 4 records that Jesus “must needs go through Samaria” on His travels from Judea to Galilee. There were certainly other ways to get there besides going through Samaria. One common route was longer but avoided Samaria due to animosity between Jews and Samaritans. The direct route through Samaria was the shortest but could have been considered less desirable by many Jews.

However, the Savior did not demonstrate the least concern about perceived Jewish-Samaritan tension and ventured into this land and had an extensive one-on-one conversation with the woman at the well.

The story goes that at the well, the Savior asked her for a drink and she, surprised by His request, responded by articulating the factors that seemingly separated her and Him and would thereby limit their association. Her words reveal the cultural and social barriers that existed in the world she lived in.

But notice that the Savior did not respond to her question about division. He didn’t comment on the boundaries or the history of two cultures that stood between them. He instead focused on what would unite them—namely, who He is and the gift of living water.

Jesus began to speak of quenching a deeper thirst, one that could not be satisfied by the water from the well, but only with something infinitely greater.

God’s great plan of happiness teaches that we left our premortal home to enter a world where we would learn, grow, and choose. Like the woman at the well, we labor and thirst amid the demands of mortality, often drawing from the wells of the world, hoping they might satisfy our temporal needs.

The Savior taught that “whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.” And then He added, “The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”[1]

The Savior’s words describe the sustaining and renewing power of His gospel in our lives, and Elder David A. Bednar explained the impact of that power when he taught that “the living water … is a representation of the Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel.” He continues:

“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. …
“… Spiritual thirst is a need for living water. A constant flow of living water is far superior to sporadic sipping.”[2]

Elder Bednar’s teaching invites us to consider our own spiritual habits and to recall that the Savior’s invitation to the Samaritan woman was not just to drink once, but to come and keep drinking.

Next in their interaction Jesus speaks to her about her life, and she realizes that He knows her completely. Can you imagine that moment? Not an exposing moment. Not a condemning moment. But a compassionate understanding of our circumstances. Can you imagine the confidence and the trust that can flow into our lives when we recognize that the Savior knows us perfectly?

Her understanding of Him begins to grow as their conversation unfolds. First, she calls Him “Sir.” Then she recognizes Him as a “prophet.” And finally, she bears her own testimony, declaring that He is the Christ.[3]

And for the first time in recorded scripture, Jesus reveals plainly that He is the Messiah.[4]

John records that after this experience, the woman “left her waterpot” and ran to the city to tell others.[5] Her leaving behind her vessel has always seemed to symbolize to me immediately setting aside distractions that may occupy our hands and our hearts to more fully embrace what the Savior offers—habits that no longer serve us, worldly pursuits, and even a singular reliance on ourselves for more abundance in discipleship following the Savior.

The Samaritan woman, after leaving her vessel, immediately ran to her people, declaring, “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?”[6]

Her testimony began spreading the good news of the gospel throughout her corner of Samaria, leading others to believe in Him and causing them to seek Jesus for themselves.

Her experience with the Savior pointed her outwards to others. The act of inviting others to know Christ can open our eyes again to His goodness and help us to remember His promises to us.

The Plan of Happiness: Living Water in Our Eternal Story

For me, the story of the woman at the well stands as a reminder that one great promise is that Jesus Christ will come to all of us and offer us transformation through His gift of living water. Her story is illustrative, on a personal level, of what God’s plan of happiness accomplishes on an eternal scale, which is to return to the very source of living water—Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven.

It can also be viewed as a reflection of our own eternal story.

Before we came to earth, we lived with our Heavenly Parents. Our spirits dwelt near the source of all life. But part of God’s divine plan required that we leave our heavenly home and enter a mortal world where we would learn by experience what it means, in part, to experience temporal and spiritual hunger and thirst.

Like the Samaritan woman who came to Jacob’s well, we each left home with our own vessel—namely the spirit within our body, which has the capacity to be filled, to learn, to change, and to grow.

The woman’s journey to the well mirrors our journey into mortality. She came seeking water to sustain daily life. We came into this world to gain a body, to face opposition, and to learn to rely on the Savior for true nourishment.

We also live in a world that often divides by culture, by perspectives, and by circumstance. Like the woman at the well, we sometimes see first what separates us rather than what unites. Yet the Savior meets us beyond those boundaries. His living water crosses every line we draw and heals the fractures and divisions of humanity.

Our opportunities to “encounter” Jesus Christ often begin in our ordinary daily moments: in prayer, in study, in reflection and remembering, and through seeking out the Holy Spirit as we go throughout our life’s routines. Those moments thereby have an opportunity to be transformative, to be a place of meeting where we can have the Savior revealed to us and drink frequently from His living water.

The Savior’s invitation to the woman at the well to ask Him for living water represents going beyond our ordinary, repetitive, physical demands to seek after the extraordinary permanence of Christ’s eternal nourishment, which fills every hunger and quenches every thirst. His offering has sustaining power. It fills our empty vessels to the satisfaction of our souls, not just our bodies.

Our Savior’s sustaining power can also orient us. It can remind us of who we are, where we come from, and where we are meant to go.

President Dallin H. Oaks once taught that “because we have the truth about the Godhead and our relationship to Them, the purpose of life, and the nature of our eternal destiny, we have the ultimate road map and assurance for our journey through mortality.”[7]

Understanding the truth and nature of the Godhead includes coming to know Jesus Christ. This is also a central part of God’s plan for our happiness. As the Samaritan woman came to recognize the Lord’s true identity—first seeing Him as a man, then as a prophet, then finally as the Christ—she experienced the same spiritual awakening each of us must undergo.

The Atonement of Jesus Christ makes that transformational recognition possible. It can help to shape our understanding. As President Henry B. Eyring has taught, it is in those moments of feeling the Spirit that we have evidence of the Savior’s Atonement working in our lives.[8] The gift of the Holy Ghost can help us to see the Savior, His ministry, and His mission more clearly and invites us to exercise faith in Him, repent, and make and keep sacred covenants with Him and Heavenly Father. And by keeping the sacred promises we’ve made to God through covenants and applying regular repentance to our lives, we begin to experience the miracles that come from the living water that the Savior offers that leads to everlasting life.

John records that the woman “left her waterpot.” Her simple action symbolizes a greater response to coming to know Jesus Christ. Namely, we begin to leave behind what once seemed essential but is no longer enough.

Our covenants to God invite us to set down vessels of worldly reliance and begin to walk the covenant path that leads back to Him. We might consider what the Spirit is directing us to leave behind to come closer to the Savior. How can we develop more reliance on God and see His plan as refining, strengthening, and one that will bless us as we consecrate our life to Him? Repentance is a loving part of God’s plan. Consider this scripture from Alma:

“Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith:
Repent, and I will receive you. “Yea, he saith: Come unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life; yea, ye shall eat and drink of the bread and the waters of life freely.”[9]

Repentance is not punishment. It is progress in the plan of happiness and a personal encounter with the Savior’s mercy. Whatever it is that the Lord invites us to set down, I testify that it’s because He is preparing us to be filled with something holier, higher, and everlasting.

After her encounter with Jesus Christ, the woman could not keep to herself what she experienced and came to know. She ran to tell her people. In the same pattern, the plan of happiness calls each of us to love, share, and invite others to partake of what we have received, to come unto Christ and partake of His goodness.

The Savior teaches, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”[10]

Missionary work, ministering, and temple service flow from the spring of living water within us as we share our belief in Jesus Christ.

1:00 minute Activity: For the next minute, I invite you to turn to someone next to you and in one sentence, share one thing that strengthens your faith and belief in Jesus Christ.

You’ve just practiced one small but powerful step in God’s plan of happiness for our lives—helping others come to Christ.

God’s plan of happiness grows as it is shared. When we talk of Christ, rejoice in Christ, and preach of Christ,[11] His Spirit flows through us to bless others, bringing our joy of the Savior to them and increasing our own. We are invited to become witnesses of the Savior whose lives point others to Christ.

Ultimately, every element of the plan of happiness leads us back to the source of living water—Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven. Both the story of the woman at the well and the plan of happiness teach us that the Savior meets us where we are, offers us His living water, and invites us to become something more. Her encounter began at a simple physical well, but perhaps our “wells” today are not made of stone but of study, work, or decision. Whatever your well looks like, the Savior will meet you there. He will speak to your spirit, just as He spoke to hers. And He will quench your spiritual thirst.

Some years ago, while en route to a destination on a commercial flight, I found myself overtaken with an unusual bout of anxiety. I’m not generally a nervous flyer or prone to anxiousness. But shortly after takeoff my mind started to race, and the cabin suddenly felt too confined. I immediately tried to physically and emotionally cling to anything I could control. I was hypersensitive to the security of the seatbelt and I scrutinized others around me to see if they were having the same experience that I was. I was attempting to focus my mind to help me settle down, but instead my thoughts became more fractured and my unease deepened.

There came a moment when I recognized that I was trying to carry the fear I was feeling alone. I was trying to draw from empty wells to calm my spirit. But none of it was giving me what I needed.

So I quieted my thoughts, breathed deeply, and began to pray. I asked God for His presence. I felt unmistakably the Savior’s calming nearness. I could almost hear the words “I am here. You are not alone” in my mind. There wasn’t any roaring thunder or any dramatic signs. Instead I experienced a simple, tender assurance that the source of peace was nearer than I’d realized. And it came in one of my simple life moments when I needed to be reminded of the Savior’s promise of “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”[12]

When the plane landed and I stepped into the airport, I felt lighter. My reliance had shifted from things I could control to someone who cared for me. And I walked out of that experience carrying with me a renewed sense of what it means to come to Christ, to receive living water, and to leave behind vessels that cannot satisfy.

Video: “Are You Really There”

The story of the woman at the well helps us to discover that discipleship is not something separate from daily life. It is found within it. Every effort we make to turn to Jesus Christ—the source of living water—is an expression of our relationship with God and an invitation for His sustaining power to flow into our lives. He is really there and will give us the help we need.

I’ve come to learn that the Lord needs His disciples to cultivate their skills to trust Him in all things. He desires for the Holy Spirit to really become your constant companion so that you can receive direction for your life and understanding and wisdom in your experiences.

President Oaks once said that “our understanding of God’s plan and His doctrine gives us an eternal perspective.”[13]

I know that that eternal perspective allows us to see more of Jesus Christ in our lives, draws us closer to Him, and allows us to rejoice in the plan that God has set out for all of us, wherein the Savior plays a central role.

The Samaritan woman’s testimony that Jesus is the Christ changed lives in her time and continues to do so today. The scripture tells us that “many of the Samaritans of that city believed on [Jesus] for the saying of the woman.”[14]

She quickly understood that the living water she had received was not only for her refreshment but also for the renewal of others. When we bear testimony of the Savior, we extend the same invitation she once gave: to come, to drink, and to be filled with the living water that brings everlasting life.

Closing Testimony

My dear friends, the Savior will meet us where we are. He is still offering living water to all who thirst. He invites each of us to leave behind whatever divides our hearts from Him and to come drink deeply from His goodness. When we do, our lives are never the same. We begin to see things differently. We begin to serve differently, to think, speak, and act more like the Savior.

I have learned that the Savior’s living water includes His power and His Spirit flowing into our lives to cleanse, renew, and strengthen us as we live God’s plan of happiness, which leads us back to our Heavenly Father.

The story of the woman at the well reminds me that the Savior meets us wherever we find ourselves in life and invites us to have sacred encounters with Him. The plan of happiness assures us that our acts of faith, every sincere prayer, and our moments of repentance can draw us closer to the source of all living water—Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven.

President Russell M. Nelson once testified: “When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation … and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our lives. … For Latter-day Saints, Jesus Christ is joy!”[15]
I testify that the promise of living water is joy, because the source of living water is the Savior.

I testify that you are invited to come see the Messiah, the Son of God, the One who knows you perfectly, who loves you completely, and who offers you living water freely. You can trust Him and continue to develop trust in Him. He has the power to fill your soul and quench your spiritual thirst.

I invite you to share your testimony with others, to “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”[16]

In a complex world full of competing voices and lesser fountains, I pray that you drink deeply of the Savior’s living water and be blessed by the constant flow of nourishment that will come as we turn to Him.

In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

[1] John 4:14.
[2] David A. Bednar, “A Reservoir of Living Water” (Brigham Young University devotional, Feb. 4, 2007), speeches.byu.edu.
[3] See John 4:15, 19, 29.
[4] See John 4:26.
[5] John 4:28.
[6] John 4:29.
[7] Dallin H. Oaks, “The Godhead and the Plan of Salvation,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017.
[8] “If you have felt the influence of the Holy Ghost … , you may take it as evidence that the Atonement is working in your life” (Henry B. Eyring, “ Gifts of the Spirit for Hard Times ” [Brigham Young University devotional, Sept. 10, 2006], 5, speeches.byu.edu).
[9] Alma 5:33–34.
[10] John 7:38.
[11] See 2 Nephi 25:26.
[12] John 14:18.
[13] Dallin H. Oaks, “No Other Gods,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013.
[14] John 4:39.
[15] Russell M. Nelson, “Joy and Spiritual Survival,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2016.
[16] Matthew 5:16.