"The truth is,
simply, that he was a prophet of God—nothing
more and not one whit less!
"The scriptures
did not come so much from Joseph Smith as they did
through him. He was a conduit through which the revelations
were given. He was otherwise an ordinary man, as were
the prophets in ancient times and as are the prophets
in our day. . . .
"The Prophet
Joseph Smith was an unschooled farm boy. To read some of
his early letters in the original shows him to be somewhat
unpolished in spelling and grammar and in expression.
"That the
revelations came through him in any form of literary
refinement is nothing short of a miracle. That some
perfecting should continue strengthens my respect for
them."
