Brotherhood and compassion transform "devil's island," says devotional speaker - BYU News Skip to main content
Intellect

Brotherhood and compassion transform "devil's island," says devotional speaker

Kalaupapa is a peninsula on the Hawaiian Island of Molokai. This beautiful area is home to many religious faiths, and includes Protestant, Catholic, Latter-day Saint and Buddhist places of worship. Kaluapapa is also home to a leprosy settlement, and has been for more than 100 years.

The refining challenges of the disease shared by those in the settlement has created a place where “religious denominations and cultural divides dissolve” into a “realm of brotherhood and compassion,” said BYU professor Fred E. Woods, a professor of Church history and doctrine, at Tuesday’s devotional in the Marriott Center.

“In a world made up of thousands of religious varieties, the unconditional love and spirit of acceptance that exist on Kalaupapa truly stand as an example to us all,” Woods said.

The devotional will be rebroadcast Oct. 5 on KBYU-TV at 6 and 11 a.m. and on BYU-TV at 8 a.m. and 10 p.m.

More than 8,000 people were forcibly removed to the Kalapuapa settlement from 1866 to 1969. Regarded at first as “a devil’s island, a gateway to hell, worse than prison,” the settlement eventually became known as a place of peace, compassion and love.

“Today [Kalaupapa] is a gateway to heaven. There is a spirituality to the place. All the suffering of those whose blood has touched the land – the effect is so powerful even the rain cannot wash it away,” said Bernard, a former leprosy patient.

Through the efforts of a Catholic priest, Father Damien J. De Veuster, and a Latter-day Saint, Jonathan Hawaii Napela, the settlement was transformed from an island prison into a “gateway to heaven.”

Together the two men mended the religious rivalries and reformed the “decadent moral conditions” they found on the island. “Kalaupapa softened under the strain of the suffering that transpired there,” Woods said.

The influence of these two men and the unconditional love and acceptance they brought to the island remain to this day. “This is our family. I don’t care what religion. That’s how we felt,” said one patient of Kalaupapa. “That’s how we were brought up here in Kalaupapa. Somehow that great love for everybody brought us together.”

Writer: Alexis Plowman

woods.jpg
Photo by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Related Articles

data-content-type="article"

BYU animation, AdLab students shine once again at Student Emmys

April 08, 2025
Students take top national honors in animation and commercial categories at the 44th College Television Awards
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

BYU professional programs land high marks, engineering makes big jump in U.S. News grad ranks

April 08, 2025
BYU’s law and business programs remained highly ranked in the 2025 U.S. News Best Graduate School Rankings released today, while BYU’s engineering graduate programs made major jumps over previous marks.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

BYU landscaping students dig their way to 10th national championship

April 03, 2025
BYU’s landscaping team is the best in the field, literally. While most national championships are won on the court or the gridiron, this one was claimed with pruned shrubs, expertly placed pavers, and top-tier irrigation systems.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=