Jedediah M. Grant, an early missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was highly demanded in Virginia. He received three speaking invitations for every one he could fill in the 1840s. His listeners gave him a horse, clothing, and funds to assist his future preaching assignments. In 1841, there were some 80 members of the Church in Virginia. After Grant and his brother left the state in 1842, another missionary, R.H. Kinnamon, traveled to nine counties and baptized more than 100 people.
When Church President Joseph Smith was killed by mobs in 1844, Church membership in Virginia was likely more than 350. Many of these early members migrated west.
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