The Story Behind the Hymn ‘I Will Walk With Jesus’

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This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.

By Mary Richards, Church News

In 2019, when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was planning to introduce a new program to help strengthen children and youth, Church leaders hoped to have a new song that could go along with the initiative.

The Primary General Presidency requested submissions for a new song to capture the spirit and direction of the new program, which invited children and youth to learn and grow by following the Savior’s example as described in Luke 2:52: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”

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Author and composer Steve Schank, who works in the Church’s Sacred Music Department, said his office sent out a request to various authors and composers for lyrics.

“At the time, I thought, ‘You know what? I’m not on this list, but I would be interested in writing a song. Maybe I should insert one as well,’” Schank said on the Church News podcast.

Several weeks went by, and a meeting was scheduled to review the lyrics that had come in from various authors.

“I thought, ‘Oh, I never did that. Well, I’ve got an hour and a half. Maybe I could just write some things out,’” Schank said. He sat down at his computer, and when it was time to begin the meeting, he was still writing. He sent his submission to the printer, walked over and took the lyrics from the printer and inserted them in the stack.

“They were all being blindly reviewed. And in the end, they were the set of lyrics that were chosen, and nobody knew who submitted them, including my team,” Schank said.

Next, the lyrics needed to be set to music. The music office reached out to composers and requested submissions. After a month, the day came when it was time to review.

“And believe it or not, my procrastination kicked in again, and the morning of the meeting, I said, ‘Oh, I wanted to write some music,’” Schank said.

So he sat down at a keyboard and started to write, then he went to his computer and notated the music, printed it off and slipped it into the stack.

The Primary General Presidency reviewed the submissions and Schank’s music was the one that they chose.

“So it was my privilege to kind of blindly submit some thoughts and some inspired feelings that now have become a blessing, hopefully, to many members throughout the Church,” Schank said.

Listen to this related podcast from the Church News Episode 243: The Church’s Hymnbook Committee chair, Steve Schank, on new hymns and joyful singing

In May 2024, “I Will Walk with Jesus” was included in the first batch of 13 new hymns for the new hymnbook.

The first verse talks about how Jesus Christ walked in wisdom and grew in truth. In the second verse, children sing how they can grow like Jesus, while the third verse talks about trusting in Him. The chorus says “I will walk with Jesus, and He will walk with me.”

In information about this hymn, found in the Gospel Library and under the lyrics view of the song’s page in “Hymns — For Home and Church,” Schank said that while pondering the message of the song, “I was struck by the idea that choosing to walk with Jesus Christ is not something we do only once but every day of our lives. As we do, the Savior shares His power with us, changing our very hearts to become more loving, more holy, more like Him.”

“I Will Walk with Jesus” was first performed at the November 2019 Face to Face broadcast explaining the Children and Youth program. A sing-along version from the 2021 Friend to Friend is available on the Gospel for Kids YouTube channel. A missionary choir also sang the song in October 2024 general conference.

Learn more about all the new hymns in the “About the Hymns” resource in Gospel Library. The song-specific chapters are also linked near the bottom of the “lyrics” view of the digital hymn pages on the Gospel Library, Music Library or Sacred Music apps.

Newsroom Call for Applications: Roles for Translations of ‘Hymns—For Home and Church

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