5 Reasons Every Latter-day Saint Should Watch and Support The Chosen.

When it comes to film adaptations of biblical stories, they range from the Bible Videos put out by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where it is quoting scripture word for word; to Hollywood hack jobs and complete disasters like the recent Netflix show portraying Jesus as a homosexual. But one biblical adaptation stands out unique and different than other productions: The Chosen.

The Chosen is a collaborative effort between Christians of many denominations (Evangelicals, Catholics, Latter-day Saints, etc.), Jewish Rabbies, and biblical scholars to share a unique perspective on the bible stories you love so much. I want to detail five reasons why I think ever Latter-day Saint should watch and support The Chosen.

The Chosen is accurate and engaging.

Unlike the Bible Videos produced by the Church, The Chosen is not a word for word recitation of Scripture. It takes artistic liberties to explore the backstory behind supporting characters. They ask, is this culturally accurate? Is it historically plausible? Using these two guideposts, they develop the script, the series is not only traditionally and culturally authentic, but it is also engaging. It is a series where you are tempted to binge Jesus and watch the videos all at once. My parents did this over Christmas break when they got the first season on DVD, they started watching and could not stop until they finished after midnight!

The Chosen closes the cultural context gap.

What was life like as a leper? Do you know what a Publican was? Or how they were treated or viewed by the Jews? How about the Pharisees, do you know how they acted or lived? If you are like most people, you’ve heard about these people, and you might even know that a publican is a tax collector for Roman tribute. But do you know everything that is implied when they state that Matthew was a Publican? Or of his call to follow Christ at the receipt of custom?

The Chosen masterfully brings the New Testament culture to life. You can feel the disdain towards the Romans and those who would forsake Israel and become their tax collectors. Suddenly you realize that Jesus Calling Matthew to follow him from inside his tax collecting booth (a receipt of custom) was a big deal. I love how in The Chosen Simon (Peter) asks Christ, are you sure? Do you know what he is? It hit me, the other apostles were not on friendly terms with Matthew, as they grew up hating him and his kind, yet Christ did not care, He just invited others to follow him.

The Chosen will strengthen your testimony of Christ.

The scriptures are full of pass by miracles that can be hard to relate with. I mean, often they don’t even name the person Christ healed. For example, the healing of a leper who we have no emotional attachment to seems inconsequential!

But The Chosen takes these supporting characters and develops their backstory, then when the miracle is performed, it is not to some no-name person on a page, but rather someone who you realize is actually human. You see how Christ changed their lives. I found myself almost crying as the paraplegic man’s friends begged Mary to show them the roof so they could let him down to Christ. Or to see the backstory of the leper being shunned by society, even the apostles, yet desperately crying out to Christ asking in faith to be healed. The Chosen creates an environment for the Spirit to testify of the validity of the Bible, and most importantly, the Divinity of Jesus Christ.

The Chosen makes a case for the Restoration.

One of my favorite sequences in The Chosen happens with Nicodemus is making a case for Christ to a fellow Rabbi, Shmuel. Shmuel argues against John the Baptist; Nicodemus shows him that embracing new scripture does not discount the old. Shmuel brings up an issue with Adonai (God) having a body and a Son, as well as with the idea that someone could see God. Nicodemus responds to this by asking Shmuel, would you put limits on the Almighty? If God did something that you felt disagreed with scripture, would you tell him to get back in that box that you have carved for Him? Or would you question your interpretation of the scriptures?

The reason I love this exchange is that it was written by the director, Dallas Jenkins, an Evangelical. It was designed to address concerns about the corporal body of God, open cannon, and living prophets that Jews would have in accepting Christ. While doing so, Dallas makes the case not just for Christ, but he inadvertently also made a case for the restoration!

The same logic that is used to accept that Christ has a physical body that can be seen can also be applied to God the Father has a physical body that can be seen (First Vision). The same logic that justifies John the Baptist being a prophet can also be applied to Joseph Smith being a prophet. And the same reasoning that accepting the New Testament does not diminish the Old Testament is the same logic we follow when accepting the Book of Mormon as Another Testament does not diminish the Old or New Testaments. And the question of would you limit God or question your interpretation is just gold! Here is a cut of that scene:

The Chosen in healing entertainment.

As Latter-day Saints, we believe in wholesome entertainment and recreation. But it is a difficult task to find wholesome entertainment. Growing up, my parents divided entertainment into four categories: bent, broken, whole, and healing.

Bent entertainment is when evil is portrayed as good, and good is portrayed as evil. This entertainment is vile and repels the Spirit faster than almost anything. (think Netflix and their homosexual Jesus film, or 50 shades of gray).

Broken entertainment is when good is good, and evil is evil, but evil wins. These are shows that glorify violence or breaking the law of Chastity and getting away with it. The Spirit will also leave if you invite this entertainment into your home. (Think Game of Thrones).

Whole entertained is when good is good, evil is evil, and good wins. In whole entertainment good prevails. Morals might be taught, but it is not the focus of the entertainment, it is merely entertainment where good wins out. Most Disney films will fall into this category, along with other family-friendly films. Entertainment in this category is what most good Latter-day Saints seek out.

Healing entertainment is when good is good, evil is evil, good wins, and morals are taught. These shows not only tell a story of good winning, but are trying to teach morals and principles. This entertainment invites the Spirit into our homes.

The problem with a lot of healing entertainment, at least video productions, is that often the quality is not as high, and therefore, people don’t support it (think 80’s church films). When we find healing entertainment, we must support it. For if we do not, then with our inaction, we are telling Hollywood and others we don’t value whole or healing entertainment, which will then continue to result in less healing and whole films and more bent and broken films being produced.

The Chosen should be supported and gladly received by Latter-day Saints because it is healing entertainment, but not only is it healing, the quality is extraordinarily high. If we don’t support a cause like this, we will show the world we don’t want shows like The Chosen. So whether you want to financially support the production of The Chosen, buy the DVD’s, sharing about The Chosen on your social media (https://www.facebook.com/InsideTheChosen), or inviting your friends over to watch it, I urge you to take action, as inaction is telling Hollywood we don’t value films like The Chosen.

This is why I wrote this article! I am not getting paid, but I have been a fan for a long time and felt like I needed to do my part. I believe in the cause, not only of The Chosen, but of all whole and healing entertainment. The Chosen has invited the Spirit into my home, brought a deeper understanding of the scriptures, and has brought my wife and I closer to Christ. I invite you to let it do the same.