Scott Smiley leans against a 3-year-old wall that looks positively ancient, created by skilled craftsmen in Central Utah to have the look and feel of old Jerusalem. “My favorite thing,” he says, glancing around the unique movie set over which he has presided for most of the past two years, “is to walk around here and say, ‘That’s where the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary.' ‘Here’s where Jesus cleansed the temple.’ ‘This is where Peter preached.’
“Of course, I know this isn’t where those things actually happened,” Smiley continued, smiling. “But being a part of this has given me an opportunity to feel like I was there.”