LDS Motion Picture Studios (MPS) is a film studio based in

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

, and is a directly-managed division of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church). The MPS is part of the LDS Church's media production division, which includes producers, editors, animators, sound stages, editing bays, and a collection of 19th-century buildings on a backlot.

History

It began as the

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

(BYU) MPS in 1953, led by

Wetzel Whitaker Wetzel Orson "Judge" Whitaker (September 30, 1908 – November 1, 1985) was a filmmaker and animator. He is most known for his early work as a Disney animator, particularly the animation of the stepsisters from ''Cinderella (1950 film), Cindere ...

. LDS Church

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

David O. McKay worked with Ernest L. Wilkinson and others to open the studio, appointing Whitaker as head."History of Church-Produced Mormon Films"
''

Church News The ''Church News'' (formerly ''LDS Church News'') is a multi-platform supplement and subdivision of the ''Deseret News'', a Salt Lake City, Utah newspaper owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (informally, the LDS Church). ...

'', 6 October 2014. Retrieved on 30 March 2020. Originally the studio was located in a building called the Green Barn where BYU's

student center A student center (or student centre) is a type of building found on university and some high school campuses. In the United States, such a building may also be called a student union, student commons, or union. The term "student union" refers mos ...

is now located."Inside the LDS movie studio"
'' The Universe'', 4 April 2003. Retrieved on 30 March 2020. During Whitaker's 22-year term at the MPS, a host of films were created. Some were privately funded, but most were created at the request LDS Church departments. In 1991, the MPS separated from BYU and became a directly-operated function of LDS Church, as part of the church's Audio Visual Department.

MPS South Campus

The MPS South Campus, in

Elberta, Utah Elberta is a census-designated place (CDP) in Utah County, Utah, Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo, Utah, Provo–Orem, Utah, Orem Provo-Orem metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 180 at ...

, was approved by the church's

First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

in 2010 and construction began on a set of biblical

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. Elberta, population less than 1,000, was chosen because of the surrounding area's similarity to Jerusalem's geography—hills, plains, cedar trees, and a stream.Wrigley, Heather Whittle
"Jerusalem Movie Set Dedicated, Ready for Filming"
''

'', 3 August 2011. Retrieved on 30 March 2020. Lynn G. Robbins, executive director of the church's Media Services Department, was instrumental in the creation of the MPS South Campus. In 2013, the LDS Church released several scenes of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

's life that were filmed there as part of the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

film project. In 2017, production started on a visual library producing a series of films from the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...

Fire at the MPS building

In 2014, a morning fire, caused when an electrical box exploded on top of the studio, resulted in power outage and a fire.Hesterman, Billy
"Fire at LDS motion picture studio in Provo quickly extinguished"
''

Provo Herald The ''Daily Herald'' is a daily newspaper that covers news and community events in Utah County, central Utah. Much of the coverage focuses on the Provo-Orem metropolitan area in Utah Valley. The ''Daily Herald'' is owned by Ogden Newspapers. ...

'', 26 March 2014. Retrieved on 30 March 2020. Occupants evacuated the building, the Provo City Fire Department soon put out the fire, and no injuries were reported.

References

Additional reading

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External links