There were very few African Americans among the first members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, Jane Manning James was baptized only one week after hearing the Mormon missionaries preach the Gospel in her hometown in Connecticut. Eager to join the body of the Saints in Nauvoo, Illinois, she journeyed there, having to prove that she was a "free black" along the way.
Her testimony and faith were immensely strong, enabling her to walk several hundred miles on foot to resch her destination. In an autibiographical sketch, she wrote, "We walked until our shoes were worn out and our feet became sore and cracked open and bled untiil you could see the whole print of our feet with blood on the ground. We stopped and united in prayer to the Lord, we asked God the Eternal Father to heal our feet and our prayers were answered and our feet healed forthwith."
Jane's faith also carried her across the plains when the pioneers traveled to Utah. She had little but she was always willing to share. Another pionner sister, Eliza Lyman, who couldn't get flour until after the harvest, was nearly destitute. She wrote that Jane " ... gave me two pounds of the stuff ... it being about half of all she had. "
So, for today, I am grateful for this pioneer woman, an example of courage, faith, and compassion.
What a neat story, one that I haven't heard before. A wonderful example of a brave and courageous pioneer woman.
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