Walk with Christ
Kimberly Idaho Stake Trek 2026
(This is not an official site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints . It is maintained by Brian Johns)
Deepen trust in Jesus Christ – His gospel of joy and His power to heal
Strengthen desire to become better disciples, and cultivate a personal relationship with the Savior
Develop self-confidence and friendships.
We encourage you to explore this website to learn about pioneers -- ancient and modern -- who walked with Christ. Be inspired by their stories.
Like them, you too can walk with Christ.
And He will walk with you.
Take the Willie and Martin companies, for example. They endured harrowing trials, and we are inspired by their stories of dedication and faith in Christ. They literally walked across half a continent. They walked with Christ. And He walked with them.
Many ... early converts had emigrated from Europe and were too poor to buy oxen or horses and a wagon. They were forced by their poverty to pull handcarts containing all of their belongings across the plains by their own brute strength. [The Willie and Martin handcart companies left Iowa City late in the season and became stranded on the high plains of Wyoming when winter storms overtook them. They suffered terribly, and the survivors were miraculously and heroically rescued.
Several years later, in a church class, some people were being critical of the decision to permit the handcart companies to come across the plains under such conditions.]
“An old man in the corner … sat silent and listened as long as he could stand it, then he arose and said things that no person who heard him will ever forget. His face was white with emotion, yet he spoke calmly, deliberately, but with great earnestness and sincerity.
“In substance [he] said, ‘I ask you to stop this criticism. You are discussing a matter you know nothing about. Cold historic facts mean nothing here, for they give no proper interpretation of the questions involved. Mistake to send the Handcart Company out so late in the season? Yes. But I was in that company and my wife was in it ... too. We suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and starvation, but did you ever hear a survivor of that company utter a word of criticism? …
“‘I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, I can go only that far and there I must give up, for I cannot pull the load through it.
“‘I have gone on to that sand and when I reached it, the cart began pushing me. I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there.
“‘Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No. Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay, and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company.’”
Refined in Our Trials, by President James E. Faust, Ensign, Feb 2006
By definition, pioneers literally or figuratively walk new, undeveloped paths. They often leave their homes to prepare the way for others to follow.
Such was the case with the handcart pioneers.
We can also be inspired by covenant-keeping, God-loving pioneers throughout the ages -- such as people in the scriptures or even in our own families. They also walked with Christ and helped show the way for the rest of us.