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©iStockphoto.com/Peter Zigich
This last couple of years I have been
blessed to become acquainted with a man who is legally blind, but
spiritually sighted. His name is Randy J. Gibbs. Let me tell you his
story. He was born fully sighted,
the oldest of four children. At age ten, he began noticing that
the blackboard was becoming harder and harder to read. By the end
of the school year, the teacher had moved him to the first row,
but he was barely able to make out her writing, even from there.
His parents, understandably concerned, took him to an optometrist
for glasses and learned that the problem was much more serious than
they had supposed. Randy said, “I still recall the eye doctor
leaning back in his chair, stunned after looking into my eyes. ‘I’ve
never seen this kind of retinal deterioration before in one so young,’
he said soberly. ‘I think you need to see a specialist.’”
Several weeks later, Randy and his parents sat in the office of
one of the country’s leading retina specialists, who confirmed
what they had heard before. Randy was losing, very rapidly, his
central vision and would soon be technically, legally blind. Kindly
sensitive to what this all might mean, the doctor advised young
Randy to continue doing what he loved to do and whatever he was
able to do.
“As far as treatment,”
he added glumly, “there’s nothing we can do. I have
no idea what’s causing this, or how to treat it. I can’t
even guess where it might lead.” On that sobering note, Randy
and his parents left his office and made the long drive home in
silence. Little did he realize what lay ahead.
By age 12, he could no longer read
regular-size print, so all his books had to be read to him by parents
or other friends. When his friends were getting their driver licenses,
he could not drive. He had to stop playing all sports because they
all required more eyesight than he had. From age ten, when the degeneration
first began, his vision has gone from 20/200 to 20/400 today.
Unexpected Gratitude
Surprisingly, Randy says he is grateful
that he lost his eyesight as a child because children in general
are far more flexible and adaptable than adults. He said he adapted
quite easily.
He told me, “I often meet older
persons who have had good eyesight their entire life and then lost
it. They are devastated, and they assume that if the adjustment
has been hard for them, it must have been even harder for me as
a little boy. I think it’s quite the opposite, and I’ve
always been grateful that I had to deal with such a traumatic event
before I learned that such things were traumatic. I felt no pity
or depression, and was rarely discouraged because this was simply
how I did my life. I rarely thought about it until someone asked
about my vision problem.”
Later, however, Randy found that the
emotional cost was higher than he was recognizing.
Higher Education
After serving a mission to Australia,
Randy returned to college, interested in finding ways to help people
who struggle in life. Psychology and sociology courses were of particular
interest. He told me one reason he was drawn to them, saying,
“In my family, once my blindness
was diagnosed, it became a subject rarely ever discussed in my home.
This was all made worse by a younger sister who developed the identical
retinal degeneration two years after me. Before it was over, three
of the four children born to my parents were afflicted with retinal
degeneration. I think the subject was simply too painful for us
to talk about and so we pretended that it was not real.
“When I started studying psychology,
I saw the great value of people with deep internal struggles talking
about it with someone trained in therapeutic counseling. During
my masters program I was drawn more and more to individual thinking
and emotion, having spent a lifetime trying to understand my own
internal struggles with a very real physical limitation.”
I asked Randy how he was able to do
college-level work, take tests, and so on, when he couldn’t
read. I knew there was no magnification equipment available then.
He replied, “In college in the mid 70s, the only way for someone
to complete the reading was by having the books read to him by someone
else. BYU had a group of readers paid by the university’s
disability department. I scheduled them to read for me as often
as needed.
“Also, there were times when
people in my classes read to me and they became friends for life.
They claimed it helped them as much as it helped me. One friend,
still a friend to this day said, ‘I have to read it anyway,
and if I read it aloud I get more out of it and it helps you get
through it as well.’ In such a case, we would also study for
exams together, so I had a built-in study group of sorts.
He continued, “Also, since I
couldn’t read the blackboard, if students in the class couldn’t
gave me copies of their notes, the teacher provided them. Occasionally
there were pre-recorded books on cassette tape, but that was very
rare in those days. Today there are thousands of titles on cassette
or MP3, making the process much easier for the visually impaired.”
He says that taking tests was a little
more tricky. Teachers had never dealt with such an exception and
weren’t sure how to handle it. Usually, they sent Randy to
a nearby room and had one of his readers read the test to him —
which made teachers nervous that cheating was so tempting. Sometimes
the teacher set a time to read the test to him, which also worked
out fine.
Technology Breakthrough
In 1977 (Randy’s senior year
at BYU), new technology that was available in the library made it
possible for those like Randy who had some vision to actually read
for themselves. It was a closed-circuit television, packaged in
what looked like a microfiche machine. When he placed the book on
a flat platter under a video camera, a magnified version of the
print was projected onto a large monitor next to the camera.
Though it was bulky, awkward, and impossible
to cart around, it was a Godsend to Randy. He said, “I still
recall the first time I sat down at one of these machines and actually
read, with my own limited vision, large magnified letters and words
on the screen. It was the first time I had seen words like etiquette,
and I had no idea what that word was because I had never seen it
in print. This occurred often the first few months of using the
machine. After all, I had not read for myself since I was twelve;
now, I was 24 and reading college textbooks. Until that point, I
had always pictured words in my mind’s eye phonetically, and
usually spelled them the same way.”
Once the machine was available, Randy
read much more on his own and took tests in the library using the
machine. To this day, some 30 years later, he still uses an updated
version of that same magnifying device.
Randy’s Growing Recognition
of the Importance of Inner Vision
After receiving his education, including
two masters’ degrees, Randy became a professional counselor.
He recalls some of his early clients whose lives were riddled with
problems, large and small. He quickly noticed that people in emotional
trouble are not seeing their problems clearly and effectively. He
concluded that the way we view our own situations is always part
of the real problem.
Randy said, “I began to see that
people with perfect physical eyesight could be emotionally and interpersonally
blind as bats. They might be doing the very things most likely to
make their lives stressful, but couldn’t see it. They were
blind to their own part in the problems that most vexed them.”
He added, “I soon learned that
while physical blindness had its difficulties, persons with fuzzy
inner vision faced a far more debilitating foe in the form of their
own distorted thinking, beliefs, and explanations. I tried to help
them see things more clearly, to shift their perspective to see
things in new ways that would allow them to transcend their challenges
and live on a higher level of effectiveness and happiness. I was
an eye doctor of sorts, only working with people on their inner
vision.”
This Analogy Leads to Writing
Books
Years later, this observation and related
insights led to the publication of his first book, 20/20 Insight,
and now to a gospel book entitled Spiritual Vision.
Randy says, “The key challenge
people have spiritually is related to the quality of their inner
vision, what I call their spiritual vision. Without it, we fail
to see the critical connections between gospel precepts and daily
behavior. We miss the link between church callings and becoming
more Christ-like. We are bored by some church meetings that bring
tears to the eyes of the spiritually alert. Spiritual vision enables
us to see and understand the things of God, essential for real faith
to be developed.”
Click
to Buy
 Randy’s
book, Spiritual Vision, seeks to cultivate in its readers
a greater capacity to see spiritual things more clearly, more fully,
and thereby experience the gospel in more meaningful ways. For example,
if we partake of the sacrament but do not have the spiritual vision
to see its relevance in our lives, it will not be a meaningful weekly
reminder. It is so easy to go through the motions when our minds
are blind and our hearts are hard or apathetic.
Randy reminds us that regular fervent
prayer, serious scripture searching, and faithful adherence to gospel
commandments help increase the quality of our spiritual vision.
Soon we begin to see God “moving in His majesty and power”
in our lives in ways hitherto missed.
Technology is Part in the Process
I asked Randy what technology has done
for him about being able to read and to write well enough even to
write books. He said, “These days, in addition to the closed-circuit
TV system on my home office desk, I also use computer-aided tools.
Software is available that magnifies everything on a computer monitor,
allowing me to work just as effectively and efficiently as a fully
sighted person. Also, I use a screen reader, which is fabulous.
I can highlight anything on the screen, click a couple keys and
a computerized voice reads it to me. This is how I read email and
review my book manuscripts. Also, millions of book titles now exist
on either CD, cassette, or for MP3 download and I read on average
5-10 books a month.
More about Randy’s Latest
Book
The title of Randy’s book Spiritual
Vision, came from Elder Maxwell during one of the priesthood
blessings he gave him for his failing eyesight. He blessed Randy
that one day “your physical eyesight would be as clear as
your spiritual vision.” He says he has reflected on those
words often. One chapter of his book asks readers to consider how
clear their physical eyesight would be if it were a reflection of
the clarity and depth of their spiritual vision.
In D&C 76, the Prophet Joseph and
Sidney Rigdon declared that, “The eyes of our understanding
were opened so as to see and understand the things of God.”
Thus, the clearer our spiritual vision, the more easily we can both
see and understand the things of God and His hand unfolding in our
lives.
Randy has found that one of the greatest
challenges we all face is making the connection between gospel precepts
and daily application. His entire book strives to help the reader
both see the connection and then understand how to apply gospel
truths in their personal and family lives.
For example, he tells of a discussion
he and Elder Maxwell had about the various reasons behind trials
and tribulations of life, even for an apostle. Elder Maxwell said
to him, “I feel a lot like Nephi, Randy. I do not know the
meaning of all things. The one thing I know for certain is that
the Lord loves us. And that’s all I really need to know.”
The first chapter in the book underscores
this conversation for the reader, and the principle it highlights
sets a nice backdrop for an entire 100-page volume on spiritual
vision.
Conclusion
Randy says that spiritual vision is
what every missionary prays will rest upon his skeptical but sincere
investigators. When people finally receive their own witness that
the gospel is true, they see more, feel more, know more, and receive
more. Both the heart and the mind of one blessed with keen spiritual
vision are changed.
Randy has a reputation as an exceptional
teacher. He has often received church callings as a teacher, and
says he has felt a great responsibility to help class members “see
and understand” the gospel in ways that nourish their souls
and bring joy to their lives, the natural fruit of truth. He seeks
ways to help others make connections between ancient stories and
modern challenges.
Still, he says, “While I love
to teach and am blessed with the gift of teaching, I never want
people to leave my class saying ‘Wow, Randy is a great teacher;
he is amazing.’ Rather, I want them to say, ‘Wow, the
gospel is so marvelous, so amazing.’”
He feels exactly the same way about
his new book. His greatest desire is that Spiritual Vision
will expand the readers’ ability to “see” and
experience more gospel light in their lives. Randy Gibb’s
life is a testimony that the loss of physical sight is only a small
inconvenience compared with the loss or lack of spiritual vision.
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