"We got up Tuesday, worked until 9 p.m., then started out again, and we were back in Utah on Wednesday night."

Healey at first viewed his work on the temple as "just another job" but quickly became enamored with Nauvoo history, including an account of an early ancestor who lived here. As he observed the craftsmanship and rubbed shoulders with fellow workers, he felt a growing appreciation for those who first built the temple.

Jackson's respect for the early builders has also become a part of his spiritual foundation, he said.

"We did it with the most modern technology we could, and they built the same building when horsepower meant a horse. They were lifting these huge stones with a block and tackle. . . . It was a huge effort for us today, and I think what it must have been like for them to do it. Unfathomable."

Prince shares such reflections.

"We had two cranes operating with genie lifts and a basket to go up 275-280 feet, and the most modern equipment possible. . . . I think our ancestors are looking down here and thinking we're a bunch of pikers for using all this modern equipment."

Even so, he hopes — believes — they'd be proud.

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