Retiring in 1999 from a career with the Physical Facilities Department of the Church, Ronald Prince was soon called into missionary service doing essentially the same kind of work for which he had earned his livelihood.

Specifically, Elder Prince was given the assignment to be the project administrator for construction of the Nauvoo Illinois Temple, overseeing the work of a cadre of other missionaries with building expertise assigned to work full time on the new temple.

Like many Latter-day Saints who have lived and served in Nauvoo, Elder Prince gained a renewed appreciation for his 1840s Nauvoo ancestors, specifically his great-great-grandfather Hosea Stout.

Brother Stout held many responsible Church and civic positions in Nauvoo and, later, in Utah Territory. He was a militia officer in both locations and was chief of police in Nauvoo and subsequently in Winter Quarters, Neb., the saints' interim settlement on the Missouri River as they were migrating to the Rocky Mountains. Historians are indebted to him for his faithfully kept diary that so accurately and perceptively mirrored his times and circumstances.

It was this published diary that Elder Prince happened upon one day as he was haunting the Olde Bookstore, a rare-books establishment on Mulholland Street near the Nauvoo Temple lot. The bookstore is owned by his friend Estel Neff, a descendent of Katherine Smith Salisbury, sister of the Prophet Joseph. In response to Elder Prince's inquiry, Brother Neff brought out a two-volume copy of the Stout diary. The rare copy was a bit expensive; Elder Prince asked the store owner to hold on to it while he considered buying it.

In April, Elder Prince's son Kendall visited from Arizona. He stopped into the bookstore looking for a gift for his father. While there, he recognized a photo that Brother Neff had of Elder Prince and introduced himself as Elder Prince's son. Brother Neff said, "I know just what your dad wants!"

The son purchased the volumes, then secretly slipped them into the book collection on his father's desk. Elder Prince did not notice them until the next day. Surprised and delighted, he asked his wife about them. She responded: "I think you'd better call Kendall who's back in Arizona and thank him for them. He put those on your desk."