A boy really did fall from a mango tree and remain unconscious for three days while John H. Groberg was a missionary. He remembers that he was on his way to church on a Tuesday, and he climbed the tree because it had some of the very best mangos. When he woke up on Thursday, he was worried that he was late for his meetings.
The Brigham Young University scene was actually shot in New Zealand. The filmmakers hired almost every swing club in the country to appear as extras. Anne Hathaway and Christopher Gorham do almost all of their own dancing. Anne was kicked in the head during one sequence. She was nearly knocked out.
Rats really did eat the soles off John H. Groberg's feet; they split open when he stood up. Later in life, he was diagnosed with skin cancer on the soles of his feet. His doctor was curious about how he exposed the soles of his feet to the sun, and he explained that the treatment for his injury in Tonga had been to sear his soles with the heat of the sun.
When the film crew arrived on the Island of Rarotonga (capital of the Cook Islands), the Prime Minister welcomed them by gathering all of the religious ministers of the community for a prayer meeting. They prayed that the film crew would be blessed with good weather.
Deseret Book, the publisher of the biography on which the movie is based, never previously sold film rights to any of their books. Deseret Book is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and John Groberg was one of the presiding elders of the Church at the time of the sale. There was, therefore, a great concern as to how the Church would be portrayed which had to be satisfied before the rights were sold. The deal was completed, in large measure, because several key members of the production team were active members of the Church.