"The pastor of the Presbyterian Church forbid me going to hear them—as he had heard I had expressed a desire to hear them—but nevertheless, I went on a Sunday and was fully convinced that it was the true gospel he presented and I must embrace it." — Jane Manning¹

Jane Manning was born to free black parents in Connecticut. For a while, she was part of a Presbyterian church called the New Canaan Congregational Church, but she and several of her family members joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1842.² They traveled to New York, hoping to get to Nauvoo by steamboat, but they were denied passage due to their race.³ She and her family decided to walk the remaining 800 miles to Nauvoo. Their shoes wore out on the trip, but a prayer to God healed their cracked and bleeding feet, and they were able to continue their journey to Nauvoo.¹ Jane lost all of her clothes on the way there, so Emma and Joseph welcomed her into their home where she lived and worked, developing a deep friendship with them.^1,3 She would later travel west with the Saints and was remembered for her great faith.³

“Few persons were more noted for faith and faithfulness than was Jane Manning James, and though of the humble earth she numbered friends and acquaintances by the hundreds.” — Deseret News³

1. The Autobiography of Jane Manning James

2. “James, Jane Elizabeth Manning,” exhibits.lib.utah.edu

3. “Jane Elizabeth Manning James,” churchofjesuschrist.org