John 4, Part 2
Living Water
Jesus taught the Samaritan woman at the well about the living water He offers. This lesson is intended to help you understand more about the living water that the Savior offers: what it is, why you need it, and how you can receive it.
Adapting activities to meet needs. These outlines are not a script you must follow. Rather, use them as a source of ideas to invite your own inspiration. As you ponder the needs of your students and pray for guidance from your Father in Heaven, you will be guided to adapt ideas or suggestions in these resources to better suit those needs.
Student preparation: Invite the students to compare times when they have felt spiritually empty with times when they have felt spiritually satisfied. What made the difference?
Possible Learning Activities
The way to happiness and fulfillment
Begin class by sharing the following statement by Elder Corbridge and discussing the questions that follow. Consider creating a list on the board of the students’ responses to the first question.
Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge of the Seventy taught:
There is only one way to happiness and fulfillment. [Jesus Christ] is the Way. Every other way, any other way, whatever other way, is foolishness.
He offers a well of living water. Either we drink and never thirst more, or we don’t and foolishly remain thirsty still.
(Lawrence E. Corbridge, “The Way,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2008, 34)
-
What do people sometimes turn to for happiness and fulfillment that can leave them feeling spiritually thirsty or unsatisfied?
-
Why do you think people sometimes turn to things that do not bring lasting satisfaction?
-
What does Jesus Christ offer that brings lasting happiness and fulfillment?
Invite students to assess their own lives by giving them an opportunity to think about the following.
Think about how these questions relate to your own life. Are there things you turn to for happiness and fulfillment that don’t actually satisfy those desires? What experiences have you had when you felt the lasting peace and happiness that can come only from Jesus Christ?
Living water
Recall from your study of John 4 in the previous lesson that Jesus taught a Samaritan woman about living water, which is “a symbol of the Lord Jesus Christ and His teachings” (Guide to the Scriptures, “Living Water,” scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).
Imagine that you were asked to prepare a talk for sacrament meeting about the living water that Jesus Christ offers. As part of your talk, you are asked to identify (1) what living water is, (2) why we need it, and (3) how we can receive it from the Savior. Using the following scriptures, statements, and questions, as well as any additional help you may find on your own, prepare your thoughts and organize your talk.
Display or provide the following handout for students to reference as they prepare their talk.
Living Water
Read the following scripture passages and statements, looking for insights about the living water that Jesus Christ offers.
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
The living water referred to in [John 4:10] is a representation of the Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel. And as water is necessary to sustain physical life, so the Savior and His doctrines, principles, and ordinances are essential for eternal life. You and I 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 Doctrine and Covenants 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.
(David A. Bednar, “A Reservoir of Living Water” [Church Educational System fireside for young adults, Feb. 4, 2007], 1, broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org)
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (1917–2008) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
Too many sit at the banquet table of the gospel of Jesus Christ and merely nibble at the feast placed before them. They go through the motions—attending their meetings perhaps, glancing at scriptures, repeating familiar prayers—but their hearts are far away. If they are honest, they would admit to being more interested in the latest neighborhood rumors, stock market trends, and their favorite TV show than they are in the supernal wonders and sweet ministerings of the Holy Spirit.Do you wish to partake of this living water and experience that divine well springing up within you to everlasting life?Then be not afraid. Believe with all your hearts. Develop an unshakable faith in the Son of God. Let your hearts reach out in earnest prayer. Fill your minds with knowledge of Him. Forsake your weaknesses. Walk in holiness and harmony with the commandments.
(Joseph B. Wirthlin, “The Abundant Life,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2006, 100)
Based on what you learned from studying these resources or others, begin creating an outline for your talk. Be sure that your outline answers the following questions. Also think about how you can communicate your feelings about Jesus Christ in your talk. Consider sharing personal experiences you have had with partaking of the Savior’s living water and how those experiences impacted you.
-
What is the living water offered by Jesus Christ?
-
Why do we need the Savior’s living water?
-
What can we do to receive living water from the Savior?
-
How does knowing that the Savior wants everyone to partake of His living water affect how you feel about Him?
Consider allowing a few volunteers to share the talks they prepared.
When the volunteers have finished sharing their talks, give the rest of the class opportunities to share and discuss any insights and impressions they received from the Holy Ghost as they studied. Consider guiding the discussion by asking questions such as “What stood out to you most from your study?” and “What might the Savior invite you to do to drink more from the living water He offers?”
Commentary and Background Information
How does the living water Jesus Christ offers relate to the sacrament?
While serving as Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency, Sister Cheryl A. Esplin taught:
Our wounded souls can be healed and renewed not only because the bread and water remind us of the Savior’s sacrifice of His flesh and blood but because the emblems also remind us that He will always be our “bread of life” [John 6:48] and “living water” [John 4:10].
After administering the sacrament to the Nephites, Jesus said:
“He that eateth this bread eateth of my body to his soul; and he that drinketh of this wine drinketh of my blood to his soul; and his soul shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled.
“Now, when the multitude had all eaten and drunk, behold, they were filled with the Spirit” [3 Nephi 20:8–9].
With these words, Christ teaches us that the Spirit heals and renews our souls. The promised blessing of the sacrament is that we will “always have his Spirit to be with [us]” [Doctrine and Covenants 20:77].
(Cheryl A. Esplin, “The Sacrament—a Renewal for the Soul,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2014, 13)
How can the Savior’s living water help me overcome the evil influences of the world?
President James E. Faust (1920–2007) of the First Presidency taught:
Much of the spiritual pollution that comes into our lives comes through the Internet, computer games, television shows and movies that are highly suggestive of or graphically portray humanity’s baser attributes. Because we live in such an environment, we need to increase our spiritual strength.
Enos speaks of his soul hungering and crying all day and also into night in supplication for his soul [see Enos 1:4]. He craved the spiritual nutrients that quench the thirst for spiritual truth. As the Savior of the world told the woman at the well in Samaria, “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” [John 4:14].
(James E. Faust, “Spiritual Nutrients,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2006, 55)
Supplemental Learning Activity
An alternate way to begin the lesson
Rather than using the statement by Elder Corbridge at the beginning of the lesson, consider sharing with students a scenario, such as the following one, that illustrates the emptiness people can feel when they turn to other things besides Jesus Christ for happiness and fulfillment.
Consider the following scenario:Scott often turns to entertainment, worldly possessions, and sometimes even sinful behaviors in an attempt to experience satisfaction and fulfillment. While Scott sometimes feels temporary satisfaction through these things, afterward he always feels empty and longs for something different.
-
What advice would you give to Scott to help him overcome his feelings of emptiness and dissatisfaction?
-
What did you learn from the account of Jesus teaching the Samaritan woman at the well that could be helpful to Scott?