"God has set his hand the second time to recover the remnant of his people Israel and . . . Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. I am not afraid to declare it unto the ends of the earth and invite all to embrace it with all their hearts that they may receive the blessings of the gospel and be saved in the celestial kingdom of God. Joseph is a good looking man, a man that sets good examples in his family and in the streets and labors diligently to have the church deal justly, walk humbly and to have mercy."
Letter from Jacob Kemp Butterfield to Persis Butterfield, May 10, 1837, Kirtland, Ohio, Church Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah; punctuation modernized.
