A special episode of the Book of Mormon Videos series has been published to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the first appearance of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, to Joseph Smith, prophet and first president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The new video portrays the prophet Moroni in the ancient Americas as he struggles to protect and add to the record of his people before depositing the record in the Hill Cumorah for safekeeping.
The actor recalls hearing Larry J. Echo Hawk, now an emeritus General Authority Seventy and Pawnee tribe member, share a message recalling how he received a personal confirmation of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and how it changed his life.
“[Elder Echo Hawk] felt that, ‘this is my story,’” shared Munoa. “For my dad, it was kind of the same experience; he felt like this was about him and his ancestors.”
The episode’s story concludes centuries later as seventeen-year-old prophet Joseph Smith is directed to the location so that he can eventually recover and translate the ancient record into the Book of Mormon.
“We are pleased to release this episode from the series to add to the bicentennial celebration of the first appearance of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, to Joseph Smith, a historic event that resulted in the publication of the Book of Mormon,” said LeGrand R. Curtis Jr. of the Seventy, who leads the Book of Mormon Videos steering committee.
The new Moroni episode will be the last video of the Book of Mormon Videos series to be published before 2022. Further filming has been postponed because of concerns related to COVID-19.
“We have been grateful to see how the Book of Mormon Videos have complemented the study of the Book of Mormon at home,” said Sister Reyna I. Aburto, second counselor in the general presidency of the Relief Society and also a member of the Book of Mormon Videos steering committee. “We obviously wish we had more videos ready now for the study of the second half of the Book of Mormon. Yet we are grateful that more episodes about Jesus Christ and His ministry in the Americas will be coming after the next two years of filming in 2021 and 2022.”
This news release was provided by the Church Newsroom.
Aleah is a graduate of Southern Virginia University, where she studied English, Creative Writing, and Dance. She now works full time as a marketing and product manager, writer, and editor. She currently hosts the podcast “Single to the Glory” about singlehood in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Aleah served a mission in California and loves baking, Lang Leav poetry, Gaynor Minden pointe shoes, and Bollywood movies.
