Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, introduced the upcoming film, Meet the Mormons, through the use of a promotional video (posted above).
Meet the Mormons takes viewers across the world as they are given a look into the lives of six different individuals who are members of the Church.
Elder Holland explained that the film is breaking new ground, as it is a feature length documentary film that will be shown in theaters across the United States. In the video, Elder Holland states that the film was originally intended for the Legacy Theater on Temple Square. However, after watching the film, the test audiences were reported to be more likely to consider Mormons as Christians, understand the correct name of the Church and be more respectful.
Due to such incredible results, the Church leaders decided that the film should be released to movie theaters across the nation to allow more people the opportunity to see the film.
In an effort to help Church members understand the purpose of the film and what their role is, Elder Holland makes the following clarifications in his promotional video:
- The movie will be in theaters
- It is a real movie
- It will be shown in Regal, AMC, Cinemark, and other theaters
- Individuals can purchase tickets to this movie just like they would for any other movie
- The film is Church produced and commissioned by the First Presidency
- The film is intended to be an entertaining, uplifting and inspiring movie
- It was not produced as a proselyting effort, but rather, it is meant to inform
- Missionaries will not be in or near movie theaters
- It provides a unique opportunity to share who we are as Latter-day Saints
- It was not produced as a proselyting effort, but rather, it is meant to inform
- The Church is not making any money off of the movie
- All net proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross
Elder Holland then shares what members can do to make sure the film reaches as many people as possible. Just like any other movie, the length of time the film will be available in theaters will depend on its box office performance (how well it does during opening weekend).
Members are encouraged to follow these three simple steps:
- Request the film to be shown in your area
- meetthemormons.com/request-it
- If enough people request the film in the same area, the Church will proceed with booking a theater
- Members can visit a local theater and request to buy out a showing for a group—but only if there is an ability to follow through!
- meetthemormons.com/request-it
- Share the trailer and other content
- Use social media to share the content with friends and family
- Go to the film’s Facebook page and ‘like’ it
- Experience the film
- Attend the film on opening weekend—if circumstances permit
At the close of his video, Elder Holland clarifies that going to see the film is not a commandment, nor is it a requirement. He asks that all will be sensitive to individual circumstances, as some may not be able to afford a night out.
Meet the Mormons hits select theaters across the United States on October 10, 2014.
Watch the theatrical trailer for the film below:
