Praise to the Man

1. Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah,
Jesus anointed that prophet and seer.
Blessed to open that last dispensation,
Kings shall exalt 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.

2. Praise to his memory he died as a martyr.
Honored and blest be his ever great name!
Long shall his blood which was shed by assassins,
plead unto heaven while the earth lauds his fame.


Chorus

3. Great is his glory and endless his priesthood,
Jesus anointed that prophet and seer.
Ever and ever the keys he will hold.
Faithful and true he will enter his kingdom,
crowned in the midst of the prophets of old.

Chorus

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

Although Mormons don't actively worship Joseph Smith, I can now understand why outsiders often think so. I mean, just read those lyrics closely. So many of the things said are doctrinely incorrect and/or supposed to apply to Jesus and Jesus alone, such as having an everlasting and endless priesthood (Hebrews 7). Here's some further quotes that put Joseph Smith up and praise him.

Probably one of Joseph Smith's most famous quotes to non-Mormons.

"Come on! ye prosecutors! ye false swearers! All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! for I will come out on the top at last. I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet . . . " (History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 408-409)

The History of the Church contains some statements which show that Joseph Smith felt he was almost equal with God:

I am a lawyer; I am a big lawyer and comprehend heaven, earth and hell, to bring forth knowledge that shall cover up all lawyers, doctors arid other big bodies (vol. 5, p. 289).

Don't employ lawyers, or pay them for their knowledge, for I have learned that they don't know anything. I know more than they all (vol. 5, p. 467).

I combat the errors of ages; I meet the violence of mobs; I cope with illegal proceedings from executive authority; I cut the gordian knot of powers, and I solve mathematical problems of universities, with truth-diamond truth; and God is my "right hand man" (vol. 6, p. 78).

One of the more interesting quotes by Brigham Young: "...and he that confesseth not that Jesus has come in the flesh and sent Joseph Smith with the fullness of the Gospel to this generation, is not of God, but is Antichrist," (Journal of Discourses, vol. 9, p. 312).
Compare to:
1 John 4:3 And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist...

More from Brigham Young:
 "...no man or woman in this dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the consent of Joseph Smith," (Journal of Discourses, vol. 7, p. 289).

"Well, now, examine the character of the Savior, and examine the characters of those who have written the Old and New Testament; and then compare them with the character of Joseph Smith, the founder of this work . . . and you will find that his character stands as fair as that of any man's mentioned in the Bible. We can find no person who presents a better character to the world when the facts are known than Joseph Smith, Jun., the prophet, and his brother, Hyrum Smith, who was murdered with him" (Journal of Discourses, vol. 14, p. 203). 

According to Heber C. Kimball, people someday would "prize brother Joseph Smith as the Prophet of the Living God, and look upon him as a God, and also upon Brigham Young, our Governor in the Territory of Deseret (Journal of Discourses, vol. 5, p. 88)." 

"If Joseph was verily a prophet . . . then his knowledge is of the most vital importance to the entire world. No man can reject that testimony without incurring the most dreadful consequences, for he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., p. 189).

Now notice, all of these are either Joseph Smith himself, or subsequent prophets, all speaking to the members of the church. This makes what they say authoritative to the LDS people. And even moreso, notice how much of what they say makes Joseph equal to Jesus!

This takes salvation away from Jesus alone and also gives it to Joseph Smith. This is wrong. 

Acts 4:12 "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Joseph Smith is nothing like Jesus. He was a polygamist. He kept it secret from his wife for years, and when she did find out, he miraculously had the D&C 132 revelation which actually threatened his wife with damnation if she didn't accept polygamy.

Actually, here's Joseph Smith on the LDS family history website. Notice how many marriages it says he has.https://www.familysearch.org/search/treeDetails/show?uri=http://tree.familysearch.org:8080/www-af-webservice/person/7762167
Interestingly, some of these women are disappearing from his page, but on their personal pages, they're still listing him as a husband.

Joseph Smith made himself a general of Nauvoo. He could make laws and fielded his own army. He always wanted money--he is famous for his money-digging in his earlier years, and actually is on recorded as having been tried for using a seer stone to try to find money, which was illegal at that time because it was associated with magic and witchcraft. He even had himself crowned king in a secret society he founded in Nauvoo. He wanted power, money, and women. He wasn't even a real martyr--he literally went down shooting. I believe he successfully shot two bullets into the attacking mob, according to the History of the Church. Then he tried to run for it through the window. That is not martyrdom. And this is history, I'm not laying out false claims with no back-up. It can all be proven.

Joseph Smith deserves no praise. He is not a key to attaining salvation. He is a false prophet. He was not led by God, but by his own ambition. He was nothing like Jesus!