Book of Mormon Stories Come Alive in Updated Videos

Book of Mormon stories are coming alive with the updated Book of Mormon Stories videos, available now in Cantonese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish at the scripture stories section of LDS.org.

Originally available online as slide shows, images were given an animated, three-dimensional look using a technique called parallax animation. Figures are cut out and moved around the canvas, and panning, blurring, and zooming provide additional visual interest.

The videos also feature sound effects and an original soundtrack.

“These scriptural stories help to plant the seed of testimony in the hearts of children and others who view these videos by teaching gospel truths,” said Brent Meisinger, project manager in the Scriptures Coordination Division of the Church Curriculum Department. “The videos provide a learning experience that will encourage regular interaction with the scriptures and teach skills that will prepare viewers for further scripture study.”

The video makeover contains more than three hours of content spread over 54 separate episodes, ranging from “How We Got the Book of Mormon” (Chapter 1) to “The Promise of the Book of Mormon” (Chapter 54).

The images in the videos are illustrations created by Jerry Thompson and Robert T. Barrett. Their hand-painted artwork was published serially in the Friend and Liahona for almost a decade, beginning in 1989, and then was printed together in 1997 as Book of Mormon Stories.

Viewers can also watch the videos as podcasts in iTunes and as clips on YouTube and Roku. Families may also enjoy the Mormon Channel’s “Scripture Stories” program, in which children and a moderator read from the stories, discuss them, sing songs, and share testimonies about the lessons in the scriptures.

The New Testament Stories videos were also recently animated in 11 languages. They too are available on the LDS scriptures page, iTunes, and the Mormon Channel on YouTube.