Reviewing the Year 2024

In the past year, Scripture Central worked to expand its reach to illuminate and defend divine truth. As a trusted independent advocate for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Scripture Central has initiated new programs and technologies as we have reached new and broader audiences.

Videos and Podcasts

At the start of the year, a team of videographers embarked on an ambitious, expedition-style documentary series titled “A Marvelous Work”, exploring global evidence for the Book of Mormon.

Messages of Christ continued to reach the broader Christian community through stunning 3D models, including the most complete, accurate depiction of Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem, which garnered 209,000 views in just three months.

“Restoration Revealed with Casey Griffiths” brought informative, expedition-style videos exploring Church history, including a video on Freemasonry that attracted 412,000 views in four months.

Church History Matters, a podcast hosted by Casey Griffiths and Scott Woodward, surpassed 2.4 million downloads, offering deep dives into the challenges and beauty of Church history.

Let’s Get Real with Stephen Jones featured insightful interviews with influential guests, including Brigham Young University President Shane Reese, Jenet Erekson, and Mauli Bonner. Topics ranged from the science of family life to the role of the temple, with one Instagram reel alone reaching 18 million views.

“Scripture Study Insights with Tyler Griffin” continued to be a favorite supplemental resource for many as they followed the church's Come, Follow Me study program. Tyler's highly approachable teaching style and weekly insights supported gospel study and teaching.

Founders John W. Welch and Lynne Hilton Wilson launched a new video series, “Book of Mormon Matters,” which provided engaging discussions about the Book of Mormon.

Scripture Central’s rapid response team also addressed media portrayals of the Church, including the Hollywood production Heretic, and produced timely content covering major events like President Russell M. Nelson’s 100th birthday, which garnered 111,000 views.

Apps and Technology

The ScripturePlus app continued to be a valuable study tool, while its social media presence, led by Jasmin Rappleye, grew significantly, gaining thousands of new followers, likes, shares, and comments.

In addition, new features were added to the website, along with the launch of the Defenders of Faith app.

International

“Their Own Tongue” continued to serve the 647.6M indigenous speakers around the world, with the Church's Book of Mormon videos being translated into Tseltal, Tsotsil, Q’echi, Kichwa, Quechua, Aymara, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Punjabi, and Tok Pisin. 

Scripture Central expanded its global outreach by translating and producing original content in French, Mandarin, Tagalog, Urdu, and Japanese, in addition to its robust Spanish and Portuguese channels.

Research and Scholarship

The research team published dozens of new KnoWhy articles and evidence-based resources on the Scripture Central website, thanks to the efforts of the outstanding research team.

Events and Community

Initiatives were implemented to build community internally and externally, such as weekly workshops and guest lectures, as well as Scripture Central's first ever Latter-day Saint Creator Summit in Sandy, Utah. The event brought together 80 Latter-day Saint podcasters, YouTubers, and social media creators for workshops, networking, and discussions.

Scripture Central also hosted several high-profile events this year, including Book of Mormon Day in Lehi, Utah on March 26, 2024, marking the anniversary of the Book of Mormon's publication. They also celebrated Moroni Day on September 20, 2024, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Salt Lake City, commemorating the angel Moroni's visitations to Joseph Smith starting in 1823.

Staff attended the Book of Mormon in Zion Conference in Independence, Missouri, on April 19-20, 2024, where they connected with other branches of the Restoration movement and released an interview with recent convert David Boice, which received 124,000 views.

Infrastructure

The completion of the Mike Hutchings Recording Studio this year greatly enhanced the quality and capacity of Scripture Central's recording facilities.

Coming Soon

The Church History Matters podcast will be the flagship Come, Follow Me content for the 2025 year. Scott Woodward and Casey Griffiths will walk you through the Doctrine and Covenants with clarifying and contextual explanations to this book of modern scripture.

Messages of Christ has just released a reenactment of the purifying ritual at the temple following Christ’s healing of the leper in the Mark 1:40-45 account. 

In late September the team filmed the pilot episode of a new retelling of The Good Samaritan parable in Goshen, Utah. Following the pilot episode, Scripture Central will launch a new video series on the parables Christ taught during his mortal ministry with the goal to teach powerful insights of the Plan of Salvation.

In an effort to explain and expound upon the scriptures and tough topics facing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Scripture Central will be launching a new, longer-form defense of faith series.