Truman Madsen’s Final Project Releasing for Easter

In the last months of his life, Truman Madsen worked on the culminating effort of his 50-plus year career. The result, an eight-DVD set, follows Madsen on his final trip through the Holy Land.

In the last months of his life, Truman Madsen worked on the culminating effort of his 50-plus year career. The result, an eight-DVD set, follows Madsen on his final trip through the Holy Land. Called The Eternal Christ, the DVDs tell the story of Christ’s life with the backdrop of each place Christ lived, from Bethlehem to Nazareth to the Garden Tomb. The Eternal Christ was released March 23.

While Madsen travels through this sacred place, he tells the story of Christ’s life and offers his one-of-a-kind insights into Christ’s life.

“He had no script at all, whatsoever,” said director Peter Johnson. “We spent quite a bit of time discussing what he wanted to say, and we put it into an outline so we could lay out a shooting schedule. I am to this day still amazed at how he could sit down and when I called action, he would start. He was a brilliant storyteller.”

Johnson had worked with Madsen on several projects, including On Sacred Ground, which has a similar format to The Eternal Christ but focuses on the life of Joseph Smith. Madsen was a philosopher, essayist, professor of philosophy at Brigham Young University, and the former director of the BYU Center for Near Eastern Studies in Jerusalem. He passed away in 2009 due to bone cancer.

“At the time [of the filming] he had had cancer for 6 years and had felt perfectly well. For the six weeks they were filming he was robustly healthy,” said Truman’s wife, Ann Madsen. “It was just after we returned home that he began to decline,” she added.

FEATURED SPONSOR

“His two passions were the prophet Joseph Smith and Jesus Christ. Since 1968 he’d been taking tours to Israel, and he really loved to tell people about Christ in the places where [he lived],” Ann Madsen said of her husband.

When accompanying people to the Holy Land, in sacred places he would always give people time to sit and contemplate. “He wouldn’t just lecture,” said Ann. “He does that in the DVD as well.”

Those who watch the peaceful footage of the DVDs will be surprised that they were filmed during tourist season. “Truman mentioned that he’d been there 50 times and he’d never seen so many tour buses,” said Johnson. “It was a challenge to get the film we wanted.”

“You’ll notice that we didn’t go down into certain places where there would have been tons of tourists,” continued Johnson. “It would not have been fair to put Truman in a place with all those people milling about and expect him to talk about sacred things.”

Instead, the video footage shows only Madsen and a few shots of people walking through the Old City. Johnson and his crew didn’t want viewers to be distracted by the hustle and bustle, so they instead chose to focus on shots overlooking the places they visited.

Madsen passed away before the film was completed, but seemed enthusiastic about the filming while in the Holy Land, said Johnson. “He was warm and encouraging. We would find a location, and he would say it was wonderful. We would let him look through the camera and see some of the shots and he was always impressed.”

Madsen bears his testimony at the conclusion of the DVD set by saying, “We know that the story of Christ is not all over yet, but we have this glimpse of what the happy and fulfilling ending can be for all who come to Him with full purpose of heart.”

“I was married to him for 56 years and he always taught me. In this last DVD I saw things and made connections and learned things that I didn’t know before. It was always inspiring to sit just off to the side and listen to him,” said Ann.

Families will be able to listen to the words of Madsen and enjoy his teachings and the breathtaking scenery of the Savior’s homeland this Easter. The Eternal Christ is available at Deseret Book stores and deseretbook.com.