The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will release its second episode for the Book of Mormon video series today. These videos are part of an ongoing project to enhance study tools for members. Last week, the Church released chapters 1-2 of 1 Nephi.
The filming took place in a Church-owned Jerusalem movie set in Goshen, Utah, and in the tropical mountains in Kauai, Hawaii. This project has been ongoing since 2017, and everyone participating has been working to bring the book to life. Jeff Dickamore, the actor playing Alma, says, “You do research into the background of the character and everything you can gather about their life and what they experienced personally.”
In the press release, the First Presidency announced that they hope the videos will help enhance the study of the scriptures and increase understanding for those reading the Book of Mormon. Director Adam Anderegg explains, “It’s not necessarily a dramatization of the scriptures, but a visualization of the scriptures. It’s seeing what’s in the book. As a visual learner, this is one of my biggest ‘aha’s’ working on the project.”
General leaders of the Church feel like the project will be helpful for sharing the gospel. Sister Reyna Aburto, the Church’s second counselor in the General Relief Society said, “It’s exciting to see all the different resources that have come together to make this project a reality, and to bring the message of the gospel to the world.”
Each Friday until the end of the year, videos covering the first 138 pages (1 Nephi to Enos) will be released. The Church has announced that the rest of the chapters will be released in 2020 and 2021.
For many members, this is an exciting addition to the Church’s gospel media library. Emma Kunzler, a member of the Church, stated, “I think this is such a cool opportunity. Not only will it help me in my own scripture study, but I can understand it and share it better. I can also use it during a lesson.”
LeGrand R. Curtis Jr. of the Seventy encourages members, “I think having these videos will be another way to appreciate the grandeur of the Book of Mormon.”
The videos will be posted in 15 languages and episodes will be from 13-20 minutes long. The video schedule is posted online on the Church’s website at ChurchofJesusChrist.org, where people can also find the videos. The series is also posted on the Youtube Channel under “Book of Mormon.”
