![]() “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God,” in the Book of Mosiah chapter 2 verse 17. Those who have served an LDS Young Church-service Mission are well acquainted with these words of the Book of Mormon prophet and leader King Benjamin: While it may not have been a proselyting mission, Susov believes he was able to do what the Lord needed him to do. ![]() In all, Elder Susov served 57 months - that’s four years and nine months - as a missionary. “I am thankful to my Heavenly Father that I have autism ’cause if I didn’t I wouldn’t be here today, meaning I wouldn’t be on this mission and I wouldn’t be who I am.” The only problem with it is that it keeps me going on a day-to-day basis,” Susov said. “I have autism but I am not ashamed of it it doesn’t limit what I can do and it doesn’t stop me. He was not shy in saying his autism was what got him the privilege of so much service. He was assigned to serve in the Family and Church History Mission he also spent time doing temple work.Īt the beginning of his third mission Susov was asked to introduce himself. Three months later, Susov was on his third mission serving with a companion and living in an apartment in Salt Lake City. He wanted to live away from home, have a companion, teach and baptize.Īgain, the bishop looked into what could be done for Susov. Just as the end of his mission approached, he was asked to serve for another six months to help a student, which he did.īut it still wasn’t the mission he was hoping to have. So, for two years Susov took the bus each weekday from Pleasant Grove to Salt Lake City to serve his mission. “I enjoyed seminary and institute,” Susov said. However, Susov loved the LDS Church’s seminary and institute classes for youth and young adults, and there was a service mission seeking someone to help handicapped students in seminaries and institutes in the Salt Lake City area. A full-time proselyting mission was not possible. Knowing he had autism, the bishop investigated the potential for Susov to serve. That was when he knew.Īt age 19, Susov had a visit with his bishop, a local ecclesiastical leader. He was about 8 years old and watched his brother leave on a full-time mission to Perth, Australia. Susov’s keen desire to serve an LDS mission has always been with him, but he says he can really pinpoint the time it became important. He was diagnosed with high-functioning autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) when he was in kindergarten. He also received a card with their signatures and a couple of their albums. ![]() The last day of Susov’s last mission, the choir and orchestra returned the favor and gave him a farewell ovation. “I would be the first one up and applauding. “It became my favorite spot,” Susov said. At the end of each broadcast, Susov would be the first to pop up and start the crowd clapping and encouraging a standing ovation. Many youth with autism, and other disabilities, are having enriching and life-altering experiences as they serve in numerous capacities.Įvery Sunday for two years, Susov and his companion could be found on the very front row of the Salt Lake Tabernacle enjoying another “Music and the Spoken Word” broadcast. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides a way to make that happen through the Young Church-service Mission. Susov and others like him who want to serve in their organized faith have one goal: to hasten the work of the Lord. A full-time Young Church-service Missionary, he also has autism. He was called the “singing missionary” - the elder who sang his heart out around Temple Square in Salt Lake City.Ĭonnor Susov, age 26 of Pleasant Grove, was also the self-designated cheerleader of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square.
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