From Betrayal to Blessing

Harriet’s Insight on a Misfortune That Became a Blessing

While sailing to America, seven year old Harriet Weaver Taylor may have had the hardest job of all. She was responsible for taking care of her sick mother and her three younger siblings. One of which was a mere few months old. 

Her oldest brother and father were working on the ship as cooks in exchange for “passes” to Utah. 

Can you even imagine?

So much for such a young girl to take. 

When they landed on Ellis Island (then called Castle Gardens), her mom exited the ship on a stretcher. Harriet sat by her mother while she waited for her dad to get the passes, her mom looking “more dead than alive.” 

To the family’s horror, the captain of the company had given their passes to someone else. Harriet’s brother was furious. Harriet's dad said: “there was no use feeling that way about the whole church just because of one dishonest man.” But her brother was not having it. He said “if that was a sample of Mormonism, he didn’t want anything more to do with it.” So, Harriet’s brother stayed in New York. 

Harriet and the rest of her family stayed in New York for a while, as her dad worked for money to make the trip to Utah. After a year of staying in New York, and getting a doctor's help, Harriet’s mother got better. After three, they had enough money to make the trip to Utah. 

Several years later, Harriet was talking to her father when he brought up the dishonest man. It was clear that he was still bitter about the situation. Harriet told him that he should be grateful that it happened, because it was actually a blessing. 

Of course, he was like, how do you figure?

Harriet explained that it was a blessing that they had to wait. If they would have immediately gone to Utah after getting off the boat, mom would have have died. She was so weak, and people much stronger than her had died attempting to cross the plains. By having to wait, she was able to regain her strength before crossing. Additionally, a railroad had been completed which made their trip tremendously easier. Most of all, because she didn’t die, the family was blessed with 5 more children. 

Harriet’s father agreed… It really had been a blessing in disguise. 

Have you ever had something happen that seemed bad at first, but turned out to be a blessing? I’d love to chat about it! 

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