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    The Seeking Soul: A Pathway of Spiritual Growth
    The Seeking Soul: A Pathway of Spiritual Growth
    The Seeking Soul: A Pathway of Spiritual Growth
    Ebook189 pages2 hours

    The Seeking Soul: A Pathway of Spiritual Growth

    By Brad Flinders

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    About this ebook

    How do I stop my thoughts? And how does observing our thoughts enhance our spiritual growth? These questions along with many others are answered in a concise and effective way in The Seeking Soul. In this informative guide, author Brad Flinders addresses a myriad of topics relating to spiritual development such as how to find the stillness within, how to more effectively trust life, how to subdue the ego, and how to love ourselves unconditionally.
    The Seeking Soul begins by taking you through the authors spiritually driven path of seeking for answers while being a devoted Mormon. The journey then proceeds through those experiences and lessons that opened him up to a new way to view life. It then delves into the insights resulting from a lifetime of seeking, including how to live in harmony with the flow of life and how to find gratitude.
    Through the insightful and amusing stories and informative viewpoints, Flinders provides a unique insight into following a well-defined path designed for the spiritual growth of the seeking soul.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBalboa Press
    Release dateMay 7, 2014
    ISBN9781452596167
    The Seeking Soul: A Pathway of Spiritual Growth
    Author

    Brad Flinders

    Brad Flinders is the author of the spiritual guidebooks The Seeking Soul, The Evolving Soul, and now The Silent Soul. A lifelong seeker of spiritual truths, Flinders shares insights and experiences resulting from 40 years of searching as a devout Mormon followed by two decades of continued exploration and life-changing discovery after having left the church. He and his wife are the parents of eight children and reside in rural Utah.

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      Book preview

      The Seeking Soul - Brad Flinders

      PART ONE

      My Story

      Chapter 1

      SPIRITUAL LONGINGS

      THIS ALL BEGAN IN 1957 WHEN I WAS BORN INTO A LOVING MORMON family in Salt Lake City, Utah. I was the third of four children, having two older sisters and a younger brother. My fond memories of those early days consist of playing with my best friend, Clay, as well as other friends in our suburban neighborhood. I had a joyous childhood. The day was never long enough, as we played endless games and engaged in whatever activities our young imaginations could summon. Some days it was just Clay and I; other times it would include several of the neighbor boys. We didn’t watch much TV in those days but spent all the time we could outdoors, regardless of the season. We were always disappointed when our mothers called us in for the evening, ending our adventures when there was so much fun still to be had. In other words, we were regular boys.

      My spiritual path really began in those early days as well. I remember that we had a thin hardbound book in our home narrated by the prophet Nephi, one of the main characters in the Book of Mormon. It must have been a children’s version, because I remember reading it while I was still very young. There were no pictures, just text. The book was basically a simplified account of the early chapters in the Book of Mormon. I remember reading these stories and feeling great stirrings in my soul. I loved the prophet Nephi; I wanted to be just like him. This was more than just a passing phase. I thought about spiritual things continually. This was a burning desire deep within me.

      As far back as I can remember, I had this longing inside. I would not have been able to articulate it back then, but looking back, I would describe it as wanting to know God. More accurately, I wanted to experience God. I wanted to have the experiences Nephi had. I wanted to be as good as him, as worthy as him. This, to me, was the ultimate experience of existence. To arrive at this state of spiritual accomplishment was definitely the goal. My soul thrilled at the thought of God speaking to me as he spoke to Nephi and other early prophets. I wanted to be that righteous.

      Over the years, this desire would occasionally change form in some manner, but it would never leave me. It was a yearning that never seemed to be fulfilled. Sometimes it almost felt like a curse. It was always with me. Since I grew up LDS, the only way I knew to address this longing was through devotion to the teachings of the church. This was not so much an outward display as it was an inner feeling. I wanted to be obedient. I never really felt like I was measuring up, but this did not dampen my devotion in any way. I was determined and hopeful to have tangible spiritual experiences like the prophets of old. This was my greatest desire. I believed it was just a matter of worthiness.

      When I was ten years old, my parents decided to leave Salt Lake City and move to a more rural area. A friend had told them about a small farm for sale. My father was familiar with the area because he had traveled through there as a boy. He had commented, as a young man, that he would love to live in this area some day. They bought the 72-acre farm for $300 an acre in 1967.

      For me, the move was both exciting and sad. It was difficult to leave my wonderful friends in our little suburb of Salt Lake City. They were the only friends I had ever known, and Clay was my best friend; we were like brothers. Not having a choice, I reluctantly left, hoping that this new adventure would somehow replace the life I had come to know and love in our wonderful little neighborhood.

      The move had its challenges, but it proved to be a vital part of my journey. Soon after we moved, I met a family who would have a profound influence on my life’s path. I made friends with two brothers who lived a short distance from our farm. I’ll call them Rob and Joel. Rob was a year older than I and Joel was a year younger. The three of us spent many happy hours together. We especially had fun each summer, camping in the nearby mountains and just goofing off like boys do. They became my dearest friends during a time when I was growing through many inner yearnings.

      I spent many hours in Rob and Joel’s home, becoming like another son to their parents. Theirs was a home of true religious devotion to the gospel. This resonated deeply with me. I especially loved being in their home on Sundays when they spoke often of spiritual teachings and experiences. Their father was particularly influential in providing many spiritual insights for me to consider. My favorite story, however, was the following account that I heard Rob and Joel’s mother tell many times about her father William, who was still living at the time, and whom I had met on several occasions.

      William had been converted to the Mormon Church in the early 1900s. He joined the church shortly after serving in World War I. The profound effect William had on my life came in the form of an experience he’d had as a missionary. Shortly after William had joined the church, he decided to serve a mission, which consists of going out and teaching the gospel message to others. In fact, he served two missions. While on one of these missions he was preaching with his companion in a particular town where they were not being very well received. They were told by some very angry people to get out of town and never come back. William, who—as his daughter put it—had no fear of man, was there the very next week, preaching to those same people. He was committed to sharing his message of truth. At some point in the sermon, William relates that someone in the congregation gave some sort of signal to the others, and they all stood up and began to move toward him. He could see that they had clubs and chains in order to inflict bodily harm.

      What happened next was the epitome of what, in my mind, religion or spirituality was all about. In the moment when William’s life was in peril, he was saved from the mob by an actual heavenly being. As this being entered the back of the room, the people in the room were frozen in time, and the heavenly being took William out of the building to safety. No one except William knew what had happened.

      Learning of this experience changed my life. Here was a man whom I actually knew and could talk to (even though he was very elderly), whose experiences provided evidence that this spiritual path was real. All the feelings I had felt as a child were now magnified a hundredfold. More than ever, I wanted to have this experience, to somehow become worthy to experience God in a real and tangible way; to hear his voice, to see his face, to have a vision, see an angel. It didn’t matter what form it came in; I just knew this was my ultimate goal. Every time I heard William’s story, I would thrill inside to know that this had happened, meaning that a heavenly manifestation was also possible for me. Meeting this family had a profound effect on my spiritual life in many ways. It fueled the fire that I had felt since childhood regarding spirituality and God. I was now more determined than ever to achieve some sort of spiritual pinnacle in my

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