W. Willes's freedom from sea-sickness
Published October 4, 2026 at 7:58 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
W. Willes, secretary of the company on the ship Curling, noted that he was miraculously free from sea-sickness during the entire voyage, an experience he had only once in over a dozen voyages, which he attributed to his faith and adherence to specific health practices.
Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 17, No. 27, 7 July 1855, p. 427):
I have crossed the ocean a dozen times, and have always been sea-sick, but this time I have been entirely free from it, which I attribute to the blessing of the Lord, and to my having lived on a vegetable diet, and abstained from all fermented liquors, tea, coffee, and tobacco, during the voyage.
In Their Own Words
“I have crossed the ocean a dozen times, and have always been sea-sick, but this time I have been entirely free from it, which I attribute to the blessing of the Lord, and to my having lived on a vegetable diet, and abstained from all fermented liquors, tea, coffee, and tobacco, during the voyage.”
— W. Willes, Letter to F. D. Richards
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 7 July 1855 (Vol. 17, No. 27). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1855-07-07_17_27 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Complete account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 17, No. 27, 7 July 1855, p. 427 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1855-07-07_17_27
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