Critics of the viral TV series about the life of Jesus Christ titled The Chosen have been spreading rumors that the show is a Mormon production. Now the makers of The Chosen are putting that rumor to rest.
On April 26, the creators of the popular series addressed concerns in a Facebook post, making it clear that the series is not produced by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The post included a photo that has been making its way around social media with a message at the bottom saying, “This is not an anti-Christian show produced by Mormons. Be very careful about this show.”
“They happen to be correct in the first sentence…we’re not anti-Christian, we’re not produced by Mormons,” The Chosen’s producers wrote. “But we’re going to go out on a limb and guess there was a typo; which wouldn’t be surprising, as most of our hate comments aren’t written by English majors. That said, go ahead and be very careful with us—that advice is solid.”
More than 2,400 people commented on the producers’ post.
One user noted, “God is in it!”
“I love this show. Jesus is all over this because it is bringing people into His kingdom! I tell anyone who will listen to watch because I’ve been a believer for 38 years and the Gospels came alive like never before. I have the devotionals. This show has brought me closer to my Savior! I also quote the show. I identify with Peter and I adore the way Matthew was written. I am an instructional aide in SPED. Matthew is close to my heart. God bless this series and all who participate in creating it! God is in it!!” the user wrote.
Another user wrote, “I haven’t seen anything yet that goes against Scripture… if I do, I’ll walk away from it. So far, it’s been very respectful and realistic and the disclaimer does tell the viewers to READ THE GOSPELS and if everyone does that, this show will have done a magnificent duty to spread The Word.”
“I remind all the different sects and factions that Christ told His disciples to leave others preaching and trying to cast out demons to do what they wanted because he who is not against us is for us. So I don’t care at this point if Catholics, Mormons or Vikings are involved in this project. So far I love every minute of it,” the user continued.
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Christian Headlines reports the rumor about a Mormon connection with the series has circulated on blogs and social media in recent months.
As CBN News has reported, The Chosen, a production distributed by Angel Studios, is the first multi-season story about the life of Jesus Christ. Garnering millions of dollars in support, it has become the top crowd-funded media project of all time.
So far, The Chosen’s worldwide audience has paid it forward to completely fund seasons one, two, and three with the hope of having a fully-funded season four in 2023.
Dallas Jenkins, the series creator, writer, director, and executive producer is an evangelical Christian. Deseret News reports during a recent question and answer session in front of a receptive audience at Utah State University, one person in the audience asked him, “When are you going to make the episode about Jesus coming to the Americas?”
Contrary to the Bible, Mormons believe that after his death and resurrection in Jerusalem, Jesus Christ visited the Americas.
“Not anytime soon,” Jenkins said, which drew laughter from the crowd.
The director told the audience he didn’t have an agenda when he felt divine inspiration to begin creating The Chosen, but he has watched it bring people of different faiths and religions together in remarkable ways, according to Deseret News.
“To me, one of the joys of this project is seeing the religious walls that come down when we’re focused on Jesus himself,” he said. “It’s just been so beautiful to watch.”
During an interview in March posted to YouTube, Jenkins told Ruslan KD his series does not receive any funding from Angel Studios or any organization, including any religious organizations.
Angel Studios has LDS members within it, but the studio is a “distribution partner,” and “they don’t actually fund it,” he said.
“I am an evangelical,” Jenkins told the YouTube content creator. “I consider myself a conservative evangelical. I believe in the Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It’s the inerrant word of Scripture.”
He also explained that he alone is responsible for the series content.
As CBN News reported last December, “Christmas with the Chosen: The Messengers” was released in 1,700 movie theaters becoming Fathom Events’ best-selling and most highly attended event in its history.
The film, which depicts the birth of Jesus Christ from the perspectives of Mary and Joseph, soared to $9 million in box office receipts over one weekend.
Despite becoming a box-office hit last holiday season, Jenkins told CBN News’ The PrayerLink he does not look at numbers as a measure of success.
“For me, it’s about the impact and seeing what God is doing,” Jenkins said. “God has something to say and I’m just wanting to be a part of it.”
“People just seem to be responding to what God is saying and I’m just lucky to be a steward of it,” he added.
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