Legacy of Faith: Sailing Through Storms

It was smooth sailing, and we were thrilled, for we knew now that we were on our way to Zion and the land of the free. The promised land that we had heard so much about from the missionaries and read about in the Book of Mormon. We enjoyed the food, the beds, and there was a show nearly every night, as well as music and dancing too if people wanted to dance.

We had been out about four or five days when a storm started up. It got worse and worse. We were not allowed out on deck for fear of being swept overboard by the wind, and the huge waves came in over the deck. We were all scared. I am usually not frightened, but I surely was at that time. People got seasick; only a handful of people came to eat their meals. I never missed a meal during the five days it lasted. When it first began, it was evening and the table was full of food and people were sitting ready to eat. All of a sudden, the ship must have stood on end, for here came all the food whizzing past me. I grabbed my food and knife and fork and napkin and looked at all that good food going on the floor. It looked so funny as it came swishing by; everyone was so surprised. We all looked at each other and I started to laugh. I was about the only one holding onto my plate. I laughed and laughed. Mama was so embarrassed and told me to keep still, but I got all the other people to laugh. They really didn’t know what to do. What a mess! The poor waiters and waitresses cleaned it all up in a hurry.

The storm continued for about five more days. One night and a day we lay at anchor so the ship stood completely still. That is, it did not sail, but it did not stand still, for it tipped first on one side, then on the other, then it stood on one end, then on the other. It was terrible and very frightening. The foghorn was blowing every two minutes to alert other ships not to run into us, and of course I was afraid of the icebergs. We had had blessings given to us by the priesthood before we left Randers that we would go safely, but here we were in a raging storm; ugh, it was awful. The storm finally abated and the weather was better. There was still a strong wind, but no storm and we were allowed on deck. The table was full of hungry people who had been seasick.

We did not stop at Ellis Island; the missionaries who had helped us fixed it so we did not have to be herded like cattle and examined. Adolf had been sickly and Mama was afraid he would have been sent back, for they had to be in excellent health to enter into the United States. So we sailed up around New Foundland and down the St. Lawrence River to Montreal, Canada, where we got off the boat. We got off the boat after saying goodbye to all our friends we had made. By the way, the captain told us before leaving the boat that he had been worried about the storm; it was the worst storm he had been in all the years he had sailed the seas.

Submitted by Sister Thomas