Dallas Jenkins, creator, director and executive producer of “The Chosen” denied claims that he used a line from Latter-day Saint scripture in the show’s upcoming Season 3.
“The Chosen” is a faith-based multi-season series on the life of Jesus Christ that raised millions through crowdfunding and been viewed by more than 400 million worldwide.
What happened?
In the Season 3 trailer released last week, one segment shows Jesus being confronted by a Jewish religious leader who dramatically tells him, “Jesus, if you do not renounce your words, we will have no choice but to follow the law of Moses,” insinuating Jesus could be put to death.
Jesus, played by actor Jonathan Roumie, steps forward and boldly replies, “I am the law of Moses.”
Some people have since claimed the line about Jesus being the law of Moses came from a verse of scripture — 3 Nephi 15:9 — in the Book of Mormon of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Behold, I am the law, and the light. Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life,” the verse reads.
The headline of one article said “The Chosen” had come “under fire” for the apparent Book of Mormon reference and quoted reaction from social media.
Dallas Jenkins’ Book of Mormon response
Jenkins addressed the claim during a video live stream Tuesday where he was promoting a new trailer for the theatrical release of episodes 1 and 2 of the forthcoming Season 3.
The creator of “The Chosen” said around 99% of people “went crazy and loved it” the “I am the law of Moses” line while only a tiny percentage made a fuss.
“No. 1, it’s not a direct quote,” Jenkins said. “It wasn’t referring to the law of Moses in that quote. ... And I have never read the Book of Mormon, to be honest with you. I’ve read some of it. People will share with me. I read it when someone told me, ‘Hey, that’s from the Book of Mormon.’ I was like, ‘OK,’ and I went and looked it up.”
Jenkins continued: “It’s a cool line. So either way, it’s in the show because I believe it’s a really great line and I believe that it’s also theologically plausible. ... The point is God is over these things. Jesus is over these things. He is these things. He owns these things. They came from him. Jesus makes many ‘I am’ statements and is called the ‘Great I Am.’ So no, I didn’t pull this quote from anywhere else. ... It’s a theologically plausible line and, I believe, a cool, Jesus-as-king moment, and that’s it.”
Watch for Jenkins’ explanation of the Book of Mormon claim at the 36:30 mark of the video.
As part of the live stream, “The Chosen” released a new theatrical trailer for the first two episodes, which open in theaters on Nov. 18.