GOSHEN, Utah — The love of God shown through His Son, Jesus Christ, is the main focus of a new Easter video from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Short clips of Christ’s earthly ministry, Atonement and Resurrection are shown in the video and in shorter versions published on the Church’s YouTube and social media channels Monday, April 7.
The video is part of the Church’s focus during the Easter season on the phrase “greater love” from John 15:13: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
Its release two weeks before Easter Sunday follows an invitation made by President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, for all Christians to solidify their Easter observance.
He taught about the blessings that can come from a more focused and prolonged commemoration each year of the Savior’s Resurrection, in a video published in February. He called the Savior’s Resurrection the most glorious event in history.
“The Resurrection means that all who have ever lived will be resurrected. And the Resurrection is literal,” he said.
President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, used the hashtag #GreaterLove in a social media post on Tuesday, April 1, and testified of how the knowledge of the power of the Resurrection can deliver one from grief.
“By the inspiration of the Spirit we can have a testimony of the Resurrection and a clear view of the glorious reunion ahead,” he said.
In the “Greater Love” video, a narrator chronicles the number of times the words “cross,” “crucify” and “tomb” are used in the Easter story. The words appear over images of Christ carrying a cross through a mocking crowd, hanging on the cross and being laid in a tomb.
“One word appears more than all of them: ‘love,’” the video narration continues, with scenes of Christ teaching, praying and caring for others.
As an example of where love appears in Christ’s teachings, the video lists “love one another” from John 13:34-35, “abide in my love” from John 15:9-10 and “greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” from John 15:13.
“As we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, let’s remember: No one showed us how to love greater. No one showed us greater love,” the video says over a scene of resurrected Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene.
The video ends with an invitation to find new ways to feel the love of Jesus Christ during the Easter season.
Although it’s only a minute and a half long, the video represents over a year of work, including filming in the middle of winter at the Church’s Motion Picture Studio South Campus — or the “Jerusalem Movie Set” — in Goshen, Utah.
Klane Harding worked as a creative director on the project and said the crew was challenged to create a simple-to-understand yet poignant Easter message.
“We thought a lot about love,” he said. “What it means to love, the way Christ loved and how we can portray that.”
The purpose of the video — and other videos the Church creates around Easter and Christmas — is to convey fundamental truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ in a way that is enriching and inspiring.
Harding said he and others who worked on the video did everything they could to keep the central message of God’s love at the forefront in every decision they made.
That was especially important when it came to deciding what scenes from Christ’s life to include.
“It’s the most meaningful, the deepest events in history that we need to try and simplify for somebody who might give us five seconds as they’re scrolling on their phone,” Harding said. “Our instinct is to take cues from the Savior’s life and how he shows love to everyone. Sometimes it’s through the parables that He’s teaching. Sometimes it’s through human contact. Sometimes it’s through sharing His emotion. And other times it’s literally healing, where we’re wounded or broken.”
During filming in Goshen, Harding and others meticulously watched each scene as it was filmed, paying close attention to the actors’ facial expressions to make sure the right feeling was portrayed.
Scenes include Jesus Christ healing a woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:25-34), praying in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39-44), teaching during the Last Supper (Matthew 26: 7-30) and appearing to Mary Magdalene outside the tomb (John 20).
Harding said that as one thinks of the life of Jesus Christ and His Atonement, it all comes down to His love for each person.
“He overcame something that no other being in the universe could overcome when He rose from the tomb, and at that point you can begin to understand what it means when He says, ‘Greater love hath no man than this,’” Harding said. “You begin to feel a glimpse into the amount of love that He has for every one of us.”
Speaking on the set in Goshen while surrounded by actors, set designers and directors, Harding said it was exciting to see how many people came together to create the video.
“It’s something I completely believe will benefit anybody’s life,” he said. “I feel a lot of gratitude for all the people that are pitching in to try and do something to move us as a humankind toward just getting better at showing our love for each other.”
Harding hopes people who watch the video will come away from it with a desire to show a bit more love as Christ did.
“Remember that showing a little bit more love can be really simple,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be this giant overture. It doesn’t have to be a huge time consuming act.”
