“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 in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13-14).

Thanks to a generous gift from Joan and Macon Brock, Longwood University students have the opportunity to develop an understanding of the true meaning of citizenship by immersing themselves in important issues throughout the United States.

Last summer, I had the privilege of assisting the amazing and talented professors Mike Mergen and Heather Lettner-Rust on the Colorado River Brock Experience, which studied water issues along the 1,400-mile-long Colorado River, interviewing farmers, ranchers, park rangers, Native Americans, geologists, irrigation system managers, and many others.

From this experience, observing how millions of people depend on the Colorado River for their lives and livelihoods, it is easy to see that the most valuable commodity in the West is not gold or silver, but water. Without water, crops shrivel and die, farmers and businesses fail, and towns dry up and blow away.

Unlike the Colorado River, where water is finite and every drop is claimed, Christ’s living water is infinite and inexhaustible.

Sister Kathleen H. Hughes of the Relief Society General Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, taught: “Living water heals. It nourishes and sustains. It brings peace and joy.”

Christ taught that His living water must be actively sought: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6).

Along the Colorado River, people have gone to unbelievable lengths to draw water from the river and move it where needed, including blasting through the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains long before lasers and precision blasting tools were available.

How far are we willing to go to obtain the living water offered by Jesus Christ?

What sacrifices are we prepared to make to obtain the living water by studying scriptures, participating in Sabbath worship services, and keeping the covenants we have made with God?

Like the woman at the well, we can also draw on the Savior’s well of living water and distribute to others in need of spiritual nourishing. In so ministering, we succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees (see Isaiah 35:3).

Sister Hughes taught: “Those who drink deeply not only become whole themselves, but they become a fountain to others, as one spirit nurtures and feeds another…Peace comes to us from the Lord, but we can help each other feel that peace as we share our burdens and our happiness.”

Like the Colorado River, which generates electricity for millions, the living water of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to transform each of us, lift our sights, and help us reach our divine destiny as sons and daughters of God.

EV. BRENT ROBERTS is the Elders Quorum President in the Sandy River Branch, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and also Dean of Greenwood Library at Longwood University. He can be reached at brentsroberts@hotmail.com.