A tale of religious violence on Anaa, one of many Tahitian islands, isn’t widely known among Church members. But one professor believes it may be a key to interfaith compassion.
Tucked away in the South Pacific, 270 miles east of Papeete, sits Anaa, an island situated in French Polynesia’s Tuamotu archipelago. A hazy tale from the island’s history—depicting a conflict between five converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a Catholic priest, and a gendarme (French police officer)—has captured the attention of French Professor Daryl Lee (19th-Century French Culture and Literature). Lee believes this incident teaches an important lesson: Sharing messages of Christ doesn’t mean competing with other religions, it means cooperating with them.
A Closer Look at History
Lee read primary sources to learn about the 19th-century conflict and found the records were written by individuals from a myriad of faiths. Their accounts helped him piece some of the story together. Among Anaa’s large population of Latter-day Saints, five felt particularly threatened when a Catholic priest and a gendarme visited during a prayer meeting in 1852. Violence soon erupted, and a mob began beating the two visitors; however, documentation of the event doesn’t entirely explain what caused the aggression, only that it ended with five converts killing the gendarme.
In response to the violence, Lee explains that “the French imperial governor at this time sent a court of Tahitian peers—a kind of supreme court—from Papeete. They held a trial, and they condemned these five members to death because they’d taken a life.”
Making Sense of a Story
In researching this tale, Lee studied the religious climate of 19th-century Tahiti, which was profoundly influenced by French colonization and the proselyting efforts of both Catholic and Protestant missionaries from France and Britain. He believes that limitations enforced by French protectorate authorities at that time might have accounted for the lack of security felt by Latter-day Saints on Anaa. By reading the converts’ testimonies from the trial, Lee discovered that these five members “were afraid that they were going to have religion imposed upon them.”
Lee also noted that records related to the incident—which can be found in Tahiti, France, Rome, and London—show different perspectives of the event, offering new and sometimes contradicting evidence. The factual differences show the perspectives of the various religions in the area: “Among some of the most important documents I found are journals written by LDS missionaries, but then also those by Protestant and Catholic missionaries,” Lee says.
Lessons Learned from History
According to Lee, this story shows, among other things, the importance of treating every religion and its constituents with respect. “There are times when we make assumptions and sometimes stereotype other religions, other nations,” he says. “I think it can be important to disentangle some of our own natural biases and try to tell stories and then make sense of them.”
Having stronger and more positive relationships with different religions, he argues, can foster a supportive environment of worship while discouraging unhealthy competition between denominations. These positive relationships can help bind communities of faithful people together, even when their own religious beliefs are different. He’s seen evidence of this in Senegal, a predominantly Muslim country, where in some places Christians and Muslims celebrate festivals together and assist each other in building places of worship.
And, when it comes to incidents between religions, Lee believes that a lot can be learned—even from tragedies: “How do we learn from this? How do we learn to be better neighbors and friends?” he asks. Lee says that despite our differences, “We’re all trying to celebrate and worship our Father in Heaven and acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Savior.” Sometimes the best way to do that is to do it together.
Learn more about Lee’s research here.