WW Phelps wrote “Praise to the Man” in August 1844, about a month after Joseph Smith was killed, and had it anonymously published in the Times and Seasons.. It originally had a different tune: The Star in the East. Additionally, its lyrics were different. In full, they were:
Verse 1:
Praise to the man who commun’d with Jehovah
Jesus anointed “that Prophet and Seer,”
Blessed to open the last dispensation –
Kings shall extol him, and nations revere.
Chorus:
Hail to the Prophet, ascended to heaven,
Traitors and tyrants now fight him in vain,
Mingling with Gods, he can plan for his brethren,
Death cannot conquer the hero again
Verse 2:
Praise to his mem’ry, he died as a martyr;
Honor’d and blest be his ever great name;
Long shall his blood, which was shed by assassins,
Stain Illinois, while the earth lauds his fame.
Chorus
Verse 3:
Great is his glory, and endless his priesthood,
Ever and ever the keys he will hold;
Faithful and true he will enter his kingdom,
Crown’d in the midst of the prophets of old
Chorus
Verse 4:
Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven;
Earth must atone for the blood of that man!
Wake up the world for the conflict of justice,
Millions shall know “brother Joseph” again.
Chorus
As you can see, this is different than the version that many are familiar with. In 1927 the LDS church changed “Long shall his blood, which was shed by assassins, / Stain Illinois, while the earth lauds his fame.” and replaced it with “Long shall his blood, which was shed by assassins, / Plead unto heav’n, while the earth lauds his fame.” The LDS church did this to bring the song into compliance with “The Good Neighbor policy“, which sought to remove any suggestion in church literature, sermons, and ordinances that its members should seek vengeance on US citizens or governments, particularly for the assassinations of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.
Additionally, the LDS church changed the melody to use the tune of “Scotland The Brave“.
Community of Christ members would likely not recognize this hymn at all. Joseph Smith III felt uncomfortable with how his father was revered in the lyrics so he personally rewrote them and renamed the hymn “Praise to the Lord”. Additionally, Joseph Smith III wasn’t a monolatrist like his father, and so removed monolatristic references from the hymn. The hymn was only in the 1870 RLDS hymnal, and then removed altogether and has never been added back into any other RLDS hymnal. The modified lyrics read as follows:
Verse 1:
Praise to the Lord for the great restoration
Brought by the angel to Joseph the Seer,
Blessed to open the last dispensation-
the church to establish, the gospel declare.
Chorus:
Hail to the Prophet, ascended to heaven,
Traitors and tyrants now fight him in vain,
Mingling with Gods, he can plan for his brethren,
Death cannot conquer the hero again
Verse 2:
Praise to his mem’ry, he died as a martyr;
Honor’d and blest be his ever great name;
Millions will love him and justice will triumph,
The martyr will rise with his Savior to reign
Chorus:
Verse 3:
Great was his calling and endless his priesthood,
Ever and ever the keys he will hold;
faithful and true he will enter the kingdom,
Crowned in the midst of the prophets of old
Both of the major sects of Mormonism agree that this is a controversial song that was worthy of editing. Ultimately, I don’t think Joseph Smith is worth revering in hymns. It feels waaaaay to close to worshipping him. I think the RLDS had the right idea by just ditching the hymn altogether.