Sister Zina D. H. Young's Overcoming of Her Aversion to Silk Worms

Sister Zina D. H. Young, a pioneer and Relief Society leader, had an extreme, lifelong aversion to worms. When President Brigham Young established a silk cocoonery and asked her to manage it, she initially felt it impossible. However, through a determined effort to serve the community, she overcame her fear and successfully managed the project.

Fuller account of this event (as retold in The Young Woman's Journal, vol. 37 no. 7 (July 1926)):

Aunt Zina, as we were all happy to call her, had a more than usual aversion to worms of all kinds. She said she thought it was born in her. When President Young became convinced that the silk industry could be made a success in Utah he started a cocoonery in the attic of his farm house, with thousands of silk worms. He then asked Aunt Zina to take charge of the work. She felt at first it would be impossible. But, anxious to do anything asked of her to help advance the interest of the community, she accepted the appointment and with determined effort so far overcame her aversion to the worms that she was able to make a success of the undertaking.