Joseph Smith, first President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, visited West Virginia in 1832 to purchase paper for the Church's printing press. That same year, two missionaries for the Church baptized 40 converts in the state. Several people, many of whom were not Church members, attended Church meetings in West Virginia in the early years of Church organization. During one such meeting in 1837, some 1,200 people attended. The mass of Church membership in West Virginia eventually emigrated west. One convert, Bathsheba Wilson Bigler Smith, who was baptized in 1837 said, "The spirit of gathering with the Saints in Missouri came upon me. . . . About this time my father sold his farm in West Virginia and we started for Far West." Smith later served as a Churchwide leader of the women's organization, the Relief Society.

In 1884, West Virginia authorities found that Church missionaries were not the robbers they had previously suspected after they searched the contents of their satchels. The missionaries distributed tracts and even preached in the courthouse. Later, a congregation of 26 people was organized in the area.

These groups are a great way to connect with other families who have missionaries in the same area, reconnect with other missionaries you served with in the past or simply learn more about the mission.  Robust membership activity can make these groups truly amazing resources!