In celebration of Easter, the Church has released a set of new Bible videos at lds.org/bible-videos detailing the Savior's atonement, trial, crucifixion and resurrection. These high quality videos were produced to celebrate and highlight the life of Jesus Christ. The first Bible videos were announced during the First Presidency Christmas devotional last December.
Since that announcement the Church has released more than 16 videos. Elder Patrick Kearon of the Seventy said, "The Church is pleased to add these new vignettes to 'The Life of Jesus Christ Bible Videos' library and mobile app as the Easter season approaches. These videos can help individuals visualize the ministry, sacrifice, and resurrection of our Savior."
The purpose of the Bible videos is to inspire people to strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ. Crystal Stroing, in posting a comment on the Church Facebook page, said, "I'm going to start watching the videos as a part of our routine. It will make an impression on my daughter as well as how we conduct ourselves in everyday routines."
In addition to English, the Bible videos were recently made available in Spanish and Portuguese. Videos in other languages are still to come.
The Bible videos are available in several media channels on the Internet to allow for easy access. Currently, viewers can watch the videos on BibleVideos.lds.org, iTunes, Mormon Roku channel, YouTube, Facebook and the LDS Media Library.
Sharing the videos with friends and family is also easy. Several locations allow people to send emails, e-cards, Facebook invites or by sending web links. John P. Martin posted a comment on Facebook about the videos. He said, "Such well produced videos. What a classy portrayal of the event. Pictures are really worth a thousand words."
Another way to interact with the videos is by using a mobile app, which can be downloaded to both an iPhone or Android phone. Both Android and iPad tablets are also supported. A podcast subscription can be selected through iTunes. For those who have a mobile phone with Internet access but are unable to download and use the mobile app, the Bible video website is mobile friendly for easy viewing.
Videos planned for release as the year goes include these scenes: Jesus turns water into wine, Jesus fasts 40 days in the wilderness, Jesus casts out an evil spirit, and the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.
The Church shot a total of 46 biblical videos last year for distribution. This summer 50 or more additional scenes are scheduled for production at the movie set near Goshen, Utah.
There is a subscription option on the Bible videos website to receive a notification when a new video is posted. It includes email and RSS feed. Sheron Merrill from Facebook said, "I love these videos."
The Bible videos follow the King James version of the bible almost word for word. Speaking about the powerful spirit that Bible stories describing the life of Jesus Christ contain, Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve said, "It is a miracle that the Bible literally contains within its pages the converting, healing Spirit of Christ, which has turned men's hearts for centuries, leading them to pray, to choose right paths and to search to find their Savior" (April 2007 general conference).
