Interview on #LightTheWorld and Book of Mormon videos

To help #LightTheWorld this Christmas, Book of Mormon Central had the chance to sit down with the media manager of the Book of Mormon Visual Library, produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These Book of Mormon videos will begin to be published next year and will bring to life the stories of the Book of Mormon.  Steven D. King, the media manager of these short Book of Mormon films, spoke with us about the Church's #LightTheWorld campaign, and how each of us can help. We at Book of Mormon Central got a sneak peak at the development of these Book of Mormon videos, as Steven King revealed new details about this upcoming Book of Mormon Visual Library.

Listen to this exciting podcast below:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has sponsored their #LightTheWorld Christmas initiative for the last 2 years and shows no indication of slowing down. While the campaign largely takes place within the Mormon Church and the United States, the Church was able to host a #LightTheWorld event in Ghana, spreading the light of Christ throughout the world.

The Mormon Church shot a new promotional video for this #LightTheWorld initiative in the heart of New York City, and surprised passerbys with the Church's new #LightTheWorld vending machines. People on the streets can walk up to a #LightTheWorld vending machine, purchase a humanitarian gift, and donate it to refugees around the world. This year, the Church's #LightTheWorld vending machines are housed in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, but they hope in coming years to spread this gift to cities around the world. Watch the Church's #LightTheWorld Christmas video below:

For the Book of Mormon Visual Library, the church is putting together a whole collection of 3 to 5 minute videos illustrating a short story, principle, or vignette from the Book of Mormon. The Church is facing all sorts of challenges in trying to figure out how to visualize the Book of Mormon, when we know so little about what things in the Book of Mormon actually looked like. Leaders with the Church did rigorous research on Book of Mormon characters, objects, and places, to come up with what they believe is a faithful interpretation. They were very careful to do research on the time period of Lehi, around 600 B.C. in Jerusalem. For example, the Liahona was of "curious workmanship", so researchers studied what "curious workmanship" might have been in 600 B.C. in Jerusalem.

Many people are curious where the Church is going to film these videos, since there are dozens and dozens of geographic models proposed for the Book of Mormon in the New World. At the end of the day, we do not know where the Book of Mormon took place, so the Church is making great efforts to create a "neutral" setting for filming. The Old World chapters of the Book of Mormon will take place at the Church's Jerusalem set in Goshen, Utah. For the chapters on Lehi's family in Bountiful along the sea shore, the Church filmed on the coast or Oregon. Approval on these videos goes through various members of the Seventy and several members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

The Church hopes that these Book of Mormon videos will serve as teaching tools in Sunday School, proselyting tools in missionary work, and study tools and person scripture study. With this era's influx of technology, the Church wants to get members excited about the Book of Mormon through stunning visuals and cutting-edge film making. The Book of Mormon Visual Library is projected to come out in seasons over the course of 5-6 years, and will hopefully publish their first set of videos by Moroni Day, September 22, 2018.

For more information on the Book of Mormon Visual Library, see the Church News article on recent filming, and the Church's Mormon Newsroom article.

To learn more about how you can #LightTheWorld this Christmas, visit mormon.org