The first of these latter-day prophets was Joseph Smith, a man God called as a prophet in 1830 in much the same way as He chose the ancient prophets and apostlesâfrom among the most humble and unlikely of candidates.
adage. A usually pithy and familiar statement expressing an observation or principle generally accepted as wise or true: aphorism, byword, maxim, motto, proverb, saw, saying.
1 Aphorism â A saying that contains a general, observational truth; a pithy expression of wisdom or truth.  Adage, proverb, or saw â A widely known or popular aphorism that has gained its credibility by virtue of long use.