Straightening Nails

A story from Elder Perry’s life.

When Elder Perry was seven years old, his family started to remodel their home in Logan, Utah, USA. They were taking out some of the walls in the house. Each day, the workers would tear down the old walls, leaving many boards full of nails. One of young Tom’s tasks was to take care of these boards.

Each night after the workers had finished, Tom gathered up the boards and took them out to the back lawn. There he made a big pile of boards. Then, one at a time, he put them up on two sawhorses and pulled out all the nails with a crowbar.

Five Facts about Elder Perry

Born on August 5, 1922

The L in his name stands for Lowell

Served a mission to the Northern States

Was in the U.S. Marine Corps during WWII

Became an Apostle in April 1974

After pulling out the nails, Tom did his best to straighten them. Then he threw the straightened nails into a big green bucket and stacked the boards in a neat pile. The workers were able to use the old boards to remodel the house.

Elder Perry says this project helped him learn good lessons. First, it taught him the discipline of working hard. Second, it taught him not to waste things. These lessons have helped him his whole life.