Praise to the Man

"Praise to the Man" (originally "Joseph Smith") was a poem or a hymn written as a tribute to Joseph Smith, Jr. by Latter Day Saint leader and hymn writer William W. Phelps after Smith's death. The hymn was first published anonymously in the church newspaper "Times and Seasons" in August 1844, approximately one month after Smith was killed.Anonymous [W. W. Phelps] , [http://patriot.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/NCMP1820-1846&CISOPTR=8291&filename=3402.pdf "Joseph Smith"] , "Times and Seasons", 5 (1 August 1844), p. 607.] Latter Day Saints (Mormons) consider Smith to have been a "prophet, seer, revelator, and translator". The hymn is still used in the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is hymn #27 in the current LDS Church hymnal.

Changes

Part of the original text of the second verse read, "Long shall his blood, which was shed by assassins, / Stain Illinois, while the earth lauds his fame." [Smith was killed by a mob while imprisoned at Carthage, Illinois.] In 1927, in accordance with its "good neighbor" policy, the LDS Church officially changed the words "Stain Illinois" to "Plead unto heav'n". [George D. Pyper, "Stories of the Latter-day Saint Hymns, their Authors, and Composers" (1939) p. 100.]

Tune

Phelps originally suggested "Star in the East" as the hymn tune, which is probably the same melody as ".Fact|date=February 2008

The LDS hymnal now uses a melody based on "Scotland the Brave" in honor of Phelps's Scottish heritage. The tune is modified to match the syllable count of the text.

References

External links

* [http://www.lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer/index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection=1&searchseqstart=27&searchsubseqstart=%20&searchseqend=27&searchsubseqend=ZZZ "Praise to the Man": Text and music]
* [http://www.lds.org/cm/catalogalphamp3/1,18331,4768-1,00.html?reportStart=8&reportEnd=8&searchPhrase=P Free MP3 download]