“Because of Him” Easter Video Gets More Than 5.3 Million Views
The Church's Easter video “Because of Him” has been viewed more than 5.3 million times since April 13.
The Church's weeklong social media effort to share the Easter story and to give hope through Jesus Christ received worldwide attention.
The initiative, titled “Because of Him,” included a YouTube video released in 20 languages that has been viewed more than 5.3 million times since it was posted on Palm Sunday, April 13, 2014. The video hit 1 million views on Wednesday and jumped to 2 million views on Thursday. English, Spanish, and Portuguese were the most popular versions of the video.
“The response of nonmembers and members has been overwhelming,“ said Stephen B. Allen, managing director of the Missionary Department. ”We are pleased to have honored and turned focus to the Savior during the Easter holiday.”
The video's comment section on YouTube is full of positive responses. Viewers—many of whom state they are not members of the Church—use words like “wonderful,” “powerful,” and “inspiring” to describe the video.
The Easter campaign, which focused on the hope, healing, and salvation made possible because of Jesus Christ, included daily memes with the #BecauseofHim hashtag that were featured on several of the Church’s official social media sites and were shared by members of the Church. (See a list of official Church sites.)
“This initiative has raised the bar and given us a new vision of what can be accomplished when Church members engage in being member missionaries in face-to-face interactions and through social media,” said Brother Allen.
Depictions of Christ’s New Testament ministry are featured on the memes, which include phrases such as “The world is filled with second chances,” “The grave has no victory,” and “Death has no sting.” Video and banner ads also appeared on hundreds of websites.
Viewers of the video were invited to visit mormon.org/becauseofhim to learn more about Jesus Christ, His atoning sacrifice, and His Resurrection. “Because Jesus Christ is the Savior of all mankind, it’s possible for each of us to live again with God,” said the website.
Visitors to the site were also encouraged to share the Easter story with their friends on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. “All of the major inspired technologies of our day have been used in a precise, efficient way to take the message of Jesus Christ to over 100 countries,” Brother Allen said.
The culmination of the “Because of Him” initiative was two 30-second versions of the video in English and Spanish on the masthead of YouTube on Easter Sunday, which had a reach of 87 million people.
The result of these efforts was more than 2 million visits to mormon.org/becauseofhim, where visitors could choose to “talk with a Mormon” online or request an in-person visit with missionaries, request a copy of the Holy Bible, or learn more about the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.
“We are inspired by the active participation of Church members in sharing their testimonies about all of those things made possible because of Jesus Christ,” Brother Allen said.
An example of one of the Easter initiative memes that was shared to invite others to know more about Christ.
