“Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” (D&C 88:63). Let us imagine that the Living Waters that Jesus promised to us start with Him and flow outwards in rivulets and streams and mighty rivers across the whole face of the Earth. It stands to reason that the closer the water is to the source, the purer it will be. When we draw up Living Water, we want to draw as near as we can to the source, which is Jesus Christ. If we are trying to get at the waters after they've passed through a bunch of other places, then we run the risk of all kinds of contaminants getting into the water. Of course we should reach out and rely on each other and seek learning and wisdom from all of the best books and experts and wherever possible rely on our own judgement as best we can, but there is no substitute for the Truth as it proceeds forth from the mouth of Christ in all its purity. When we are lost and confused and thirsting after that one right answer, we don't want to draw from the muddied and half-dead waters of the philosophies of men mingled with scripture. Such waters will not give us relief. But if we draw near unto the Savior, where the waters are clean and pure and bursting with light and life and the love of God, then we will never thirst again.
