Promised Land Publications
When I was a child, my parents were kind enough to acquire some large illustrated scripture books published by a company called Promised Land Publications. There was a set called “Illustrated Stories From the Book of Mormon,” a set titled “Illustrated Stories About the New Testament” and a set titled “Illustrated Stories From Church History.” Each set was 16 volumes. These were large books with brightly colored paintings.
The New Testament books came with 16 cassette tapes that were titled “Dramatized Stories of the New Testament.”
At that early age, reading those books and listening to those tapes had a powerful influence on my knowledge of scripture stories and helped me gain a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There was a period of time where I would fall asleep every night while listening to those tapes.
I specifically remember feeling awe when reading about the way Jesus was treated, his crucifixion and his resurrection, as I read through the New Testament stories. I can also remember loving the stories about Paul the Apostle, his conversion story and his missionary travels (stories that were recounted on the cassettes). I can still remember listening to the story of how Paul testified in chains before King Agrippa and King Agrippa stating: “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian” and the story of how Paul comforted his fellow shipmates in a storm, telling them ahead of time that the ship would be lost but that their lives would be spared.
Googling around, I am finding that used versions of these books and cassettes are available for online auction. It appears they are out of print. These are books and tapes from back in the 1970s.
I guess I’m wondering what happened to Promised Land Publications and why these dramatized stories aren’t available on compact disc or as mp3s.
Did anyone else grow up reading these books or listening to these cassettes?
I think they were out of print for a long time and then a few years ago, a new company brought them back out–most of the same pictures but this time in 8 volumes with fancy covers. I don’t think they did very well–I came across them on a super-clearance table at a Barnes and Noble in Bountiful and bought them for 80% off. You occasionally see them on ebay (link).
Growing up, my family had the full set also. I don’t know what happened to the set or the company, but my wife and I bought a set of them on eBay.
Julie, it’s cool to see you over here. Thanks for dropping by.
It’s interesting that you mention them being on a super-clearance sale at Barnes and Noble. I have a vague memory of seeing a bunch of Book of Mormon sets on sale in a Utah grocery store.
I’m curious what company it was that tried to revive the sale of these books. I’m also curious if they tried selling the recordings again.
It would be fun to be able to download mp3s of those recordings onto an iPod and listen to them again. It’s been so many years but just thinking about listening to those tapes as a kid brings back pleasant memories.
I was just at Pioneer Book in downtown Provo a few hours ago, and I saw what looked like a complete set of these books at the checkout desk. I also remember seeing a few of them in a missionary apartment when I was a missionary in California.
It looks like the company that obtained rights to publish and sell these series was called Heritage Media.
Although it’s clear they released the books, I’m not finding any signs that they re-published the recordings. I was hoping they would have released them on compact discs.
Hi, I hope you get this little reply of mine. I notice the date this email talk started was well over a year ago, but I was just given the Illustrated Book of Mormon set and I was wondering what other sets there are. You mentioned that there is a Church History set and a New Testament set. Was there ever an Old Testament set produced by the same company?
Thanks,
Jen
Jennifer,
I am not aware of an Old Testament set being produced. I suspect the task would be too daunting, as the Old Testament is (in length) IMMENSE.
I actually stubbled on this blog because I have been looking for the Prophet series (that my sister has by the same publisher) and the new testament series. I only have the Old Testament and the BOM. If you find any of these online please let me know as my children love them as I did as a child.
Oh, please, please, if any one is out there who will sell the tapes to me, I shall be so very happy. My brother loves the tapes, he has worn them out and is looking for another to purchase.
rc
If anyone has recordings that work, it would be nice to see some mp3 files that won’t wear out with use.
I had the old testament set when I was a kid, I asked my mom if she still had them around and she said she lost track of them years ago (which probably means that one of my older siblings “acquired” them when they got married). I can’t find anything like that online though, I’ll keep looking I guess.
I have the entire set of the Promised Land Books and tapes in new condition that were left to me by my mother. They’ve never been used. If you are interested in them, or know someone who is, I am selling them. I also have some other church history books and tapes. I may be contacted by phone at 661-393-2175.
Well, I took the plunge and ordered a set of the cassettes that I found for sale online.
I am hoping the cassettes are truly in good condition – the set I used as a kid got played so much that eventually the tape recorder just ate them up.
Now I have to figure out how to get the audio from the cassettes transferred to compact discs (and mp3 files).