Bible Brought to Life on Ancient Jerusalem Set

For more than two years, film crews of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have undertaken the task of bringing the New Testament to life in rural Utah on a three-acre set carefully crafted to represent ancient Jerusalem.  

While members of the Mormon faith have access to a wide range of audio-visual materials, these videos are recognised as being amongst the most professionally produced portrayals of the life of Jesus Christ.

Because the videos are true to the King James version of the Bible, they are non-denominational in nature and are available for download by any interested faith group at no charge.

To date, the Church has produced 49 Bible videos focusing on the life and teachings of Christ in the New Testament and will release more throughout this year. But the last days of May marked the end of production for the New Testament series on the Church’s set near Goshen (56 miles south of Salt Lake City, Utah).

All together, the two- to 10-minute videos have received over 5.5 million views. Scott Smiley, director of film and video for the Church, said he is pleased with their reception thus far.

“I’ve heard that both Church members and those of other faiths have used them to teach in their homes and in their congregations, to bring the Bible to life,” Smiley said. “That’s wonderful; we want people to be able to use them and recognise how wonderful the story of Jesus is for all of us.”

The Church has made the videos available to the public to help more people understand and appreciate the life of Jesus Christ. They may be used freely by individuals, families and groups without acknowledgement as long as the terms of use are observed.

Smiley said the videos help share Bible stories in a way that is easily accessible.

“We’re a very media-savvy culture, and we have to teach the gospel in a way that people relate to it now, and this is a great opportunity to do that,” he said.

The creators were careful to reflect the stories of the King James Version of the New Testament as faithfully as possible, paying meticulous attention to scriptural details. The text of the scripture each vignette focuses on is included with the video.

For the actors, filming on the set has been a powerful experience. “It’s amazing to work in,” said Savannah Stevenson, who plays the role of Mary. “This experience has shown me really vividly these stories played out before my eyes.”

Working on the videos has helped Stevenson see the stories of the Bible in a completely new way. “Whenever I read scriptures, I can see [what I saw as we filmed] in my mind,” she said. “I hope that’s what other people now have from us making these Bible videos, that they will have that visual in their minds too.”

As she stepped into Mary’s life, Stevenson came to greatly admire the mother of Christ and her journey. “When we think of Mary, we often think of the young Mary bearing this young child, but she also had to watch her son die; she was there at the cross,” she said. “That’s an incredible journey and an incredible thing to experience.”

Stevenson said filming the scene of Christ's crucifixion was one of the most incredible spiritual experiences she’s ever had. “To be in her shoes, to stand looking at the cross — even though it was an actor playing Jesus, it just really brought home to me that it happened, that it was real,” she said. “As much as it’s heartbreaking and awful, it also makes me realise that He died for me, He died for everybody, for a marvellous purpose, and then He rose again.”