Bible Film Series Offered on Videotape

A group of non-Church-produced films depicting biblical events will soon be available to Church members.

The films, which deal with events in the book of Genesis and the book of Luke, are part of the New Media Bible series. The series is being produced by the Genesis Project, Inc., a nondenominational, international group dedicated to putting the Bible on film in order to awaken interest in the Bible and to bring its message to people of the world who cannot or do not read.

While producing the films, the group has tried to avoid interpreting the Bible according to the doctrine of any particular religious group. Research by an international group of Christian and Jewish scholars contributed to the cultural, geographic, linguistic, and historical detail in the films.

“Everything was filmed on location in Israel and Egypt,” said Tim Taggart, manager of Audiovisual Services for the Church’s Curriculum Department. “The costuming is incredibly detailed,” both in color and style. Actors speak in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, or Egyptian Coptic, but they are heard only in the background as a narrator reads the text from the King James Version of the Bible.

Production of the series has been under way since 1976. Plans call for a twenty-year project that will eventually produce 225 hours of biblical films.

According to Josiah Douglas, director of Curriculum Planning and Development for the Church, the Genesis Project allowed the Church to purchase film masters from which the videotapes have been produced. The films were then edited in spots where knowledge available through modern revelation suggested the need for changes.

The six English-language films will be available on VHS and Beta format videotapes in the United States and Canada in October. They may be ordered individually, for $15.00 each, or as a set for $90.00. The films and their stock numbers (with VHS listed first, then Beta) are:

—“Beginnings through Abraham” (Gen. 1–22), VNVV1604, or VNVB1603;

—“Isaac and Jacob” (Gen. 23–36), VNVV1615 or VNVB1614;

—“Joseph and His Brothers” (Gen. 37–50), VNVV1626 or VNVB1625;

—“The Savior: Early Years” (Luke 1–8), VNVV1637 or VNVB1636;

—“The Savior: His Ministry” (Luke 8–17), VNVV1648 or VNVB1647;

—“The Savior: His Crucifixion and Resurrection” (Luke 18–24), VNVV1659 or VNVB1658;

—Complete set of six (Gen. and Luke), VNVV166A or VNVB1669.

The films may be ordered through the Salt Lake Distribution Center, 1999 West 1700 South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84104.

In other English-speaking countries, it will be possible to order the films from distribution centers in the PAL videotape format, compatible with videotape players used locally. Stock numbers of the films, listed in the same order as above, are: VPVV1605, VPVV1616, VPVV1627, VPVV1638, VPVV1649, VPVV165A, and VPVV1660.