The evangelical Christian creator and director of the popular TV series “The Chosen” will speak at Brigham Young University on Oct. 29.
Dallas Jenkins, who has filmed four seasons of a series about the life of Jesus Christ with nearly $100 million in viewer support, will deliver a campus forum address at the flagship university of Church Education System of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
BYU released the fall semester schedule of devotional and forum speakers as part of University Conference this week.
Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles highlights the devotional schedule, which includes other Latter-day Saints leaders. See the full list of speakers below.
“The Chosen” is very popular among Latter-day Saints, who place Jesus Christ at the center of their faith and worship.
“As the creator, producer, director and writer of ‘The Chosen,’ Dallas Jenkins is well known to our campus community. We are looking forward to hearing from him and learning how he has used his talents and abilities to shine a light on the Savior’s life,” said Richard Osguthorpe, BYU’s associate academic vice president for Undergraduate Studies.
“Dallas has shared his message on other campuses, and we are excited to hear from him,” Osguthorpe said. “We believe that we can learn much from Dallas and his example as we work to spread the message and light of Jesus Christ.”
Season 4 of “The Chosen” debuted in February. Season 5 is scheduled for release in 2025 after filming in Utah earlier this year, and Jenkins told the Deseret News that it will cover “the most famous and impactful week in the history of the world — Holy Week.” He also called Utah one of the show’s homes because much of it has been filmed in Goshen on a set that represents Jerusalem and is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“The Chosen” is not funded by the church, and it is the first production not affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ to film on the Jerusalem set.
“It really is a beautiful gift that the LDS Church has given us and hopefully a gift that we’re giving to the world,” Jenkins said.
BYU forum assemblies are designed to inspire students intellectually. The university holds either a forum or a devotional, which are designed to lift students spiritually, at 11 a.m. on Tuesday each week during the school year.
“Our focus with our forum speakers is to bring in individuals whose work can enlighten the mission and aims of a BYU education, as well as emphasize our strategic priorities,” Osguthorpe said.
Those priorities include the Constitution, the family and religion. Jenkins represents a connection to religion. The other forum speakers this fall connect to the other strategic priorities.
- David French, the New York Times columnist and bestselling author who is an attorney who has argued high-profile religious freedom cases, will deliver the BYU forum address on Sept. 24.
Also an evangelical Christian, French previously served as senior counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice and the Alliance Defending Freedom. He was a staff writer at National Review and has written for the Atlantic. He began writing columns for the New York Times in January 2023.
- Melissa Kearney, a economics and family expert at the University of Maryland, will speak at a forum on Nov. 19.
Kearney is a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former senior editor of the Future of Children. Her academic research focuses on domestic policy issues, especially issues related to social policy, poverty, and inequality. Her work has been published in leading academic journals and has been frequently cited in the popular press. She has testified before Congress on income inequality.
BYU forums and devotionals are held in the 17,978-seat Marriott Center and are open to the public. They generally are broadcast on BYUtv.
This is BYU’s full fall semester 2024 devotional and forum schedule:
September
- 10 - BYU President Shane Reese and Sister Wendy Reese.
- 17 - Elder Gary E. Stevenson.
- 24 - David French (Forum).
October
- 1 - Shima Baughman, BYU Law School.
- 8 - Homecoming opening ceremony.
- 15 - Elder Takashi Wada, General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- 22 - Elder Jörg Klebingat, General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- 29 - Dallas Jenkins (Forum).
November
- 5 - Sister Amy L. Wright, first counselor in the Primary General Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- 12 - Ty Hopkins, BYU life sciences.
- 19 - Melissa S. Kearney (Forum).
December
- 3 - Elder Anthony D. Perkins, General Authority Seventy The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- 10 - Sister J. Anette Dennis, first counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.