When using MLA format, do you need to insert ellipsis points if you omit words from the beginning of a quote?

Generally speaking, ellipses are unnecessary at the
beginning of quoted sentences where words are left out.  Think about the weaving of
quoted material into your own paraphrased context.  Sometimes only a few words within
your sentence are in quotations.  In such a case, as long as you are not changing the
meaning of the original text, it is perfectly acceptable to pick
and choose the parts you wish to quote and ellipses at the beginning or the end of
quoted material are unnecessary.  Consider the following (made-up)
example:

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Original quote: "I love Mark Twain's satire.  He
is one of my heroes in the literary world because he uses intelligence combined with
humor to make his point." - John Smith

Use of quote with
correct MLA format: Mark Twain's satire has earned him the status of "hero" in the
literary world.  One author claims to love him because of the way "he uses intelligence
combined with humor" (Smith
89).

The only exception to
the elimination of ellipses would be if you are quoting something that already includes
ellipses in the original text.  In this case, do put the ellipses in the quote to show
it was in the original.  If you need to omit words (from a text
that includes its own ellipses) and therefore add your own
ellipses, MLA suggests putting your ellipses in brackets [...] to
show that they are added and suggest that you omitted words, rather than omissions from
the original text.