The Gospel and Asperger’s Syndrome
I have a conviction deep down in my heart that we are exactly what we should be, each one of us, except as we may have altered that pattern by deviating from the laws of God here in mortality. I have convinced myself that we all have those peculiar attributes, characteristics, and abilities which are essential for us to possess in order that we may fulfil the full purpose of our creation here upon this earth…
…[T]hat allotment which has come to us from God is a sacred allotment. It is something of which we should be proud, each one of us in our own right, and not wish that we had somebody else’s allotment. Our greatest success comes from being ourselves.
I think that we can console ourselves best by believing that whatever is our allotment in life… the Lord has been wise and just, and I might add, merciful, in giving to us that which we need to accomplish the particular purpose of our call.
–Elder Henry D. Moyle, Conference Report, October 1952
One day, while window shopping, a man saw an item that caught his eye with its exquisite beauty. Upon further examination, he saw that it was a case made out of perfectly smooth crystal. He strode into the shop and asked the shopkeeper what the gorgeous object was.
The shopkeeper proudly proclaimed, “It is a crystal birdcage, and you can’t beat the price.”
Already enchanted by its beauty, the man purchased the cage and eagerly took it home to display for all to see.
The next day he bought a yellow canary and was charmed by its delightful song. At first his attention was divided between the bird itself and the delicate case housing it. However, his focus eventually shifted from the birdcage, which he soon forget was even there, to the sweet music emanating from the canary.
The bird, however, came to realize that while it had everything it needed-food, water, air-the cage prevented it from contacting the world outside. Was anybody even listening to its song? After numerous fruitless attempts to move beyond the confines of the cage and to reach out to its surroundings, it learned to accept its limitations. In time it tired of listening to its own voice and the song died away.
In many ways, the experiences of individuals with the enigmatic condition called Asperger’s Syndrome are not so different from that of the canary. While possessing their own unique strengths and attributes, they seem isolated from the world around them in ways that they, and those with whom they come in contact, cannot quite identify. The key is to help them work with those strengths within the bounds of their limitations and to learn how to sing again.
If I have learned anything of value, apart from our eternal relationship with our Divine Father and the redeeming mission of our Savior, Jesus Christ, it is that the Lord, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, has given us precisely that bundle of goodies which will enable us to best fulfill our mission in mortality as we seek to learn and implement His principles throughout our journey.
However, some of these “goodies” may come disguised as “baddies.” It is only through faith in our Heavenly Father and in His love for us that we can find the gems buried beneath layers of pain and confusion. Paradoxically, it is the voyage of discovery itself, unpleasant as it may seem, that brings the priceless jewel-our refined soul-into existence. This is not to minimize the pain nor to mitigate the guilt of those who may have inflicted suffering upon us; rather, it is meant to inspire hope in those who are in the midst of the process and who have yet to discover the sublime blessings of pain and the joys that can come into our lives as a result.
These gifts come in many forms. For some it may be an obvious physical handicap; for others, a severely dysfunctional family. It may even be a convergence of several factors which provides its own unique set of challenges. However, if we can maintain faith in our Heavenly Father’s providential purposes for our lives, remembering that “all things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8:28) then we can observe the miracle of perfection working in us as we become what the Lord means for us to be.
