Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments; - D&C 1:17
"The greatest event and blessing ever to come to mankind was the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the plan of life and salvation that He gave," said President N. Eldon Tanner, first counselor in the First Presidency, during the October 1972 general conference. "Next in importance to mankind was the restoration of the gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith. God called to him and he listened, and through revelation he brought forth a sacred record containing the gospel in its fullness, which with the Bible and modern revelation gives the world the same plan of life and salvation as given by Jesus when He was upon the earth."