We came to earth to gain earthly experience because we had to have these experiences in order to grow and learn from each day. Whether we learn and grow or just suffer through depends on us. If we learn and grow then we can have joy and the thrill of accomplishment. Our Heavenly Father has given us this opportunity to have this wonderful earthly experience and to keep our second estate. To illustrate this I will record some of the memories I have of observing the difference in attitude of different people.

I remember the contagious enthusiasm of Dad and Mother and the older members of the family when we moved into the old brick two story house and began to make it into our home. The make over was outside and inside and took a lot of work but was great fun for me as a boy.

Dad decided that the house needed to be re-shingled. When he went to Pacheco to order the shingles from Brother Marion Wilson I was permitted to go along. We arrived just before noon and went down to the shingle mill to talk to Brother  Wilson. He was busy making shingles. I was fascinated with that big contraption that made up the shingle mill.

A stream of water was running swiftly in a wooden flume that ran over a huge water wheel. The weight of the water was turning the wheel steadily with plenty of groaning and creaking. There were gears and  wheels that transferred the power to a big high knife like Guillotine that went up and down with a loud grrrrr!!!!! Chunk!!!! Grrrrr!!!! Chunk!!!!  Brother  Wilson was standing on a high platform pushing a round section of a pine log that was  about fourteen inches long against the backstop under the big knife that came down with a solid chunk!!! Each stroke of the big Guillotine would cut off a shingle that tapered from 3/8 of and inch to about 1/16 of and inch. Each shingle was about 5 or 6 inches wide. The Log was water soaked so that the knife could cut it at an angle without splitting. I to this day don't know how Brother  Wilson managed to cut those shingles so precise with that big contraption. The  shingles were tied in bundles and placed in a tank of black oil to soak and become water proof.

Soon Brother Wilson climbed down and stopped the mill by diverting the water into another ditch. As we walked toward the house Brother Wilson showed us along the flume ditch pointing out different water wheels. He showed us one for grinding wheat and corn. Another to churn the butter from the cream from his milk cows. Still another that ran a primitive washing machine for his wife to use for washing the clothes of the big family.

At dinner we had some very good whole wheat bread smeared with rich yellow butter. The wheat was ground by the grinder powered by a little water wheel. The Butter  was churned by the churn that was powered by another little water wheel. I was impressed by the ingenuity of Bishop Wilson and especially by his joyous countenance when he was telling us about his different works of his hands.

We also had some very good Molasses to spread on our bread for desert that the family had made from their own cane. The old Molasses mill and cooking vat are still at the Old Wilson home in Pacheco. Kiko and Tracy used it one year when  they planted cane and made a lot of Molasses.

Brother Wilson was also the town Blacksmith and had a good Blacksmith shop. He  provided all of the necessary things for pioneer life at that time. He rebuilt plow points sharpened crow bars and picks and made many of the tools they used in the town. Made double and single trees for the work horse teams for plowing and wagons and even mended logging chains and any other repair work for the saw mill machinery.

He was Bishop of the Pacheco Ward for many years and was loved by all of the people for his jolly nature and service to the community. He had a farm and orchard and a good garden. His cows and chickens provided him with eggs meat and Dairy products. He was an example of a man that enjoys work of all kinds and received joy in his everyday life.

When  the shingles arrived Dad went to see brother Angus Wall about shingling our house. He was the best shingler in town. I remember him well because he was quite deaf but I was amazed at how he could understand you when you talked to him. His boys Roy and Frank were good friends of mine and I often went to their place to play. I remember they had a big horse the name Grullo because of his color. Frank especially loved to ride that horse. He rode him on all of the Trail Builder and  Scout hikes.

When Brother Wall came to shingle the house he brought all of his equipment with him. It consisted of a long ladder some rope a hammer and Clinch Bar and his Cat. He had on his Apron with pockets in the front for shingle nails. Soon he was up on our roof ripping off the old shingles with his Clinch bar and taking out all of the old nails getting it ready to put on the new shingles.

I remember one day I could hear him tapping with his hammer "one two three, One two three". I was curious and wanted to watch him put on the shingles. I climbed up the ladder and holding onto the rope I went up the steep roof to where he was busy putting on the shingles. He would put the shingle in place exactly in line with the one next to it and put two or three nails in the shingle exactly in line with the nails on the one before it. I saw that he would start the nail with one tap and with two more taps would drive it firmly into the shingle and the board of the roof. I watched fascinated wondering how he could keep his lines so straight as he put one shingle after another about four inches above the bottom or thick part of the shingle underneath and exactly in line with the shingle next to it. Every little while he would stand up, holding to the rope that was tied around his waist and move his cat over to the edge of where he was working. That cat was an ingenious stool made especially for sitting on steep roofs. It was triangular in shape so that when it was placed on the steep rood it formed a level seat to sit on while he worked nailing on the shingles. It was called acat because of the metal claws on the top and bottom where it met the steep roof. These Claws dug into the wood of the roof securing the seat for him to sit on while he worked at nailing on the shingles. The  bundle of shingles was secured near him with a rope suspended from the top boards of the roof and could be moved along in front of him as he worked swiftly nailing down each shingle in it's precise place. He gave me a big smile of welcome without slowing his tap, tap, tap, and again tap, tap, tap. He smiled as he worked and I remember thinking that he was actually enjoying putting on the shingles. I could see that he had made every precaution to be safe in his work and was very careful and didn't take any chances because a fall from the high two story house would be probably fatal.

I watched for a long time and could see the beautiful result of his work. The precise lines of the shingles going from one side of the roof to the other and all of the lines four inches above the other going from the bottom of the roof to the top, without even one nail or nail hole showing, making a good water proof roof that would last for many years. I could sense Brother Wall's pride in his work and felt the satisfaction of a difficult job well done. This lesson helped realize that work, no matter how tedious and dangerous,  can be a joy and a great deal of satisfaction. I am sure if Brother Wall had been asked what he was doing he would have responded that he was making a very good roof for our house. I don't think he thought of it as just nailing on shingles, a tedious and dangerous job. That difference in attitude can make the difference between enjoying our work or being bored and tired of doing the same thing over and over.

The time came when mother needed some kitchen cabinets in her kitchen. I remember that Brother Edwin McClellan came to stay with us and build the kitchen cabinets for my mother. He was a quiet man and unassuming but he was an architect, builder and a very good carpenter and cabinet maker. I remember his quiet smile and pleasant manner when he talked with me. I am sure that I was in the way some of the time but he saw my interest and explained to me what he was doing. 

He set up a work bench outside in the yard and got out his box of hand tools. I was fascinated as I watched him sharpen the blade to his hand planer. I watched as he used that sharp plane to smooth the boards easily and straighten the edges to perfection. Then after they were fitted perfectly he would carefully smear each piece with glue and clamp them together to dry over night making a perfect joint. I noticed that he took pride in making each joint perfect so that you could hardly tell where it was joined. Soon the  beautiful sideboard of the cabinet took shape complete with big swinging bins for flour and sugar. When those bins were closed they were exactly the same as the other cabinet doors along the front of the sideboard.

Above the sideboard the dish cabinet had some beautiful glass doors to show off mothers china and dishes. These cabinets were beautiful and were painted white and were built to last the life of the house. Nothing broke or didn't work even with constant use by all of the family

As Brother McClellan smoothed and worked each piece I know that in his minds eye he could see it as a perfect piece of the whole cabinet. He knew its exact measurements and how it would fit in the whole. Each piece was made with care giving it the importance and the patience to make it fit in the beautiful finished useful cabinet in the kitchen.

Our Heavenly Father knows the beginning from the end and all in between and he works with patience and love with each of us know exactly where we fit in our families and in the whole plan of Exaltation. Truly we are those of whom he spoke when he said, " For this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

As we work in our lives may we not get bogged down with boredom thinking only of the tediousness of our work but may we see the finished product and have joy in each task and each day of our lives. As we live with each other may we see what each of us can become and work with joy to that end.