T.C. Christensen admits he had to go a few rounds with “The Fighting Preacher” before bringing the story of Willard and Rebecca Bean — who served one of the longest missions in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — to the movie screen.
Christensen had just finished making his 2011 movie “17 Miracles,” the first of two movies that focused on hardships on the pioneer trail to Utah, when someone suggested he read the book “A Lion and a Lamb,” a biography of the Beans by their grandson, Rand H.