“There has been an increased amount of attention given not only to the show itself lately, but to a comment that I made several years ago that I probably need to add a little clarification to. And this is what we kind of call the ‘LDS issue’ or the ‘LDS question’ when it comes to ‘The Chosen,’” Jenkins said in a video published to YouTube.
Jenkins went on to address what he characterized as a misquote of him that appeared in the headlines of a number of publications. In those headlines, Jenkins was accused of claiming that Latter-Day Saints and evangelicals “love the same Jesus.”
“Is it true that I said that? The answer is no. I did not,” Jenkins said, going on to express that he understood why some people misinterpreted him to be implying it. He further expressed that “nuance matters.”
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“Not because there aren’t LDS folks who are Christians and not because there aren’t LDS and evangelicals who love the same Jesus, but because it would be wrong of me to ever say that any one group believes any one thing altogether. That is just a level of arrogance that I don’t have,” Jenkins explained. “It would be just as dumb for me to say that all LDS are Christians, as it would be to say that all evangelicals are Christians, or that all Catholics are Christians or any other faith tradition. It would also be dumb for me to say that none are.”
Jenkins went on to express that he has close friends who are LDS but who “absolutely love the same Jesus that I do.” He added, “I’ve known plenty of evangelicals that I’d say don’t know the same Jesus that I do and don’t love the same Jesus that I do.”
At another time, Jenkins said of the show’s production, “As long as the content itself is faithful, we’re less demanding with those who help deliver it.”
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Season 3 of “The Chosen” premieres on November 18.
