I ran into two different scriptures in different places that
I felt provided a really interesting contrast when juxtaposed, so I wanted to
point them out. One is on
blessings of keeping the commandments, and the other is on the consequences of
fighting against Zion. They are linked together with imagery about water.
But unto him that keepeth my
commandments I will give the mysteries of my kingdom, and the same shall be in
him a well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life. (D&C 63:23)
I love that image of a well of living water springing up. I
can’t remember where I learned this, but somewhere I heard that “living water”
is a term the ancient Jews used to refer to fresh water that hadn’t been stored
in cisterns. Living water was river water, well water, and rainwater. It’s
moving and alive, not stagnant. If
you have a well of living water that springs up, you essentially have an
artesian well. You don’t have to
let down a bucket; the water presses to the surface and comes to you.
My dad has an artesian well in the basement of his second
orthodontic office. The office was built over the top before he bought the
building. There is a bowl-like basin in the cement basement floor about two times the
size of a wedding-reception punch bowl, and no matter how he tries to pump it
out, water keeps trickling in because the pressure on the ground water from
surrounding stone forces it up.
It’s rather troublesome for him in reality. But if you think
about this spiritually, wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing if we could each have
a well of living water springing up in our lives with refreshing mysteries of
God to instruct us? The above
verse promises we can have that. We can have these amazing revelations come to
us if we will just keep the commandments
of God.
Now, contrast that with this other verse:
And all the nations that fight
against Zion, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision;
yea, it shall be unto them, even as
unto a hungry man which dreameth, and behold he eateth but he awaketh and his
soul is empty;
or like unto a thirsty man which
dreameth, and behold he drinketh but he awaketh and behold he is faint, and his
soul hath appetite;
yea, even so shall the multitude of
all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion.
(2 Nephi 27:3)
This is a little difficult to parse because first it seems
like those who fight Zion will be like the dream itself (and dreams end), then
it seems like they will be like a person
having a dream who thinks they have eaten and drunk, but then they awake and
find they are still hungry and thirsty.
So which is it?
It’s probably both, depending on the degree of opposition to
Zion. Those who are wicked will be
ended like the dream. But then
there are those who have tried to nourish themselves with falsehoods or even
lower-priority pursuits who will find when the dream ends that the satisfaction
they thought they had ends too.
But too, I think this also gives us a warning about empty
time-wasting pursuits of this life—that they aren’t a real source of
satisfaction. We need wholesome
recreation, yes, but we should also beware when on a regular basis some
semi-addictive activity pull us into a dream-like flow state for hours, but leaves us
feeling vaguely unsatisfied and with nothing actually accomplished that makes
the world better.
That kind of thing doesn’t fight against Zion like a
screaming mob with torches and pitchforks would. But on the level of choices
between alternatives—good vs. better vs. best—we could be fighting against Zion
indirectly simply by a regular, deliberate turning away from “best” for a
while.
Perhaps we need to ask ourselves if there is anything we’re
doing that feels real while we’re involved in it but leaves us feeling
unsatisfied. I’m not free from these problems myself. For a curious person
(like me), the internet represents a massive temptation to learn and read about
all kinds of things, for hours and hours.. Heck, I used to browse encyclopedias for fun when I was a
kid, so you can imagine what happens when I get into Wikipedia.. One way I deal with it is by trying
(emphasis on “try”) to confine my searching to real problems I need to solve in
my life. I have to be very careful
on Facebook. And Pinterest? I haven’t gotten into that because I know
it would suck me in.
Anyway, there you have it—two different scriptures that tell
us the consequences of different choices.
We can keep the commandments and have a well of living water springing
up in us of the mysteries of the Lord’s kingdom, or we can get caught up in
what Isaiah (as quoted by Nephi) might warningly call “living the dream,” thinking we're quenching some sort of thirst and
then wake up to discover we’re unsatisfied.
Living water spring up sounds a whole lot more attractive.
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