Visitors’ Centers Adding Three New “Meet the Mormons” Stories
Contributed By Camille West, ChurchofJesusChrist.org Church News
The Church is adding three new Meet the Mormons stories exclusively at the Church's visitors’ centers around the world. Watch the trailer for a sneak peek.
Whether you live near one of the Church’s visitors’ centers or plan to be near one soon, don't miss what you can only see there: three new Meet the Mormons stories.
According to Blair Treu, the producer of the highly successful 2014 Meet the Mormons documentary, the new 20-minute stories feature “new faces, new stories, and never-before-seen footage.” Beginning July 15, 2016, you can watch one, two, or all three of these continuously playing vignettes at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building Legacy Theater:
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“The Horseman” features a horse trainer from Morgan, Utah, who compares and contrasts our lives in the hands of God to training a wild horse. If we put away our own “wild,” we become more effective instruments in the hand of our Heavenly Father, he shares.
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“The Entertainers” features the story of four siblings who make up the Japanese pop singing group Bless4. They talk about keeping Church standards in the entertainment industry and one of the sibling’s struggle with an eating disorder.
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“The Artist” is an updated and expanded story previously available only as a bonus feature on the Meet the Mormons DVD. It features an Italian artist who shares her conversion story and some of the challenges that come from being in a part-member family. While she was inactive for many years, even her nonmember husband acknowledged something was missing in their marriage and in their home. Returning to church reignited her faith, strengthened their marriage, and inspired an ongoing charitable act of service—a five-star dining experience for the homeless.
“The Artist”
“If you didn’t get to see the original film when it appeared in commercial theaters, then this is your chance to experience it in high-def. If you already saw the film, then you’ll appreciate the additional footage (especially if you love the Japanese culture or country living or Italian cuisine) and enjoy a surprise ending to one of the stories,” said Devin Shelley, an awareness manager in the Church's Publishing Services Department.
Expanded versions of the six original stories also have been edited to be viewed individually or as a set, Brother Treu said.
Meet the Mormons, which premiered October 10, 2014, was originally made for the Legacy Theater on Temple Square. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained at the time that the Church decided to move the movie to the big screen after “the film was so successful with test audiences.” The documentary opened in more than 400 theaters across the United States and became a huge success, ranking no. 10 nationwide in box office sales and becoming the 34th biggest documentary of all time. The Church donated all $1.8 million of the net proceeds of its historical first theatrical release to charity.
Meet the Mormons is available on DVD or Blu-Ray and video-on-demand (Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Comcast, DISH, DirectTV, Google Play, and Vudu), and on YouTube in 28 languages.
However, according to Brother Treu, you can only see the three new stories at visitors’ centers around the world beginning in August, and the Legacy Theater beginning July 15. Watch the trailer I Am a Child of God (Meet the Mormons: New Faces/New Stories) #MeetTheMormons.
