The mix-up isn't the first for the church. In 2003, a special titled "Mysteries of Faith" in U.S. News & World Report had a six-page spread on the LDS Church headlined "In John Smith's Steps."

Those photo and factual errors never come as much of a surprise to Robert L. Millet, a BYU professor of religious understanding and LDS author. While Joseph Smith is growing in recognition among scholars and theologians, Millet said the average "person on the street" has little knowledge about the church founder.

For the most part, Millet said people know more about Brigham Young, the second president of the church who led early Latter-day Saints to settle Utah.

"I'm not offended by that anymore than I would expect someone to be if I confused a statement by one of the popes," he said. "I can't blame people for that. I'm sure it's an honest error and nothing we can get too uptight about."

David Patrao, who was visiting Salt Lake from Australia this week, is not LDS and wasn't able to identify either Joseph Smith Jr. or Joseph F. by their photos, but took a stab at it anyway.

"Just because of where we are I'm guessing one is Brigham Young and the other is somebody Smith," he said.

Patrao admitted he only knew those names from a walking tour on Temple Square he had just completed. Otherwise, he said neither he nor anyone he knew in Australia knew much about the LDS Church besides the Mormons who are "knocking on the door all the time."

A family from Tennessee were also stymied by the photos of the two LDS prophets, saying they knew nothing about the church's history.

But getting Joseph Smith Jr.'s name out in national publications and in the context of the "100 Greatest Americans" will likely mean more people outside of Utah will learn about the church's first president, Millet said.

That is particularly important this year as members of the church celebrate the 200th anniversary of Joseph Smith Jr.'s birth. In May, church and educational leaders gathered at the Library of Congress in D.C. to commemorate the teachings of Joseph Smith Jr.

Events like that, he said, mean more people will be aware of the church as they learn about the facts and history of the church.

"One of the purposes was to help people recognize the place of Joseph Smith in the larger spectrum of American spirituality," Millet said. "I think many people have decided we can no longer just ignore Mormonism and Joseph Smith."

The rapid growth of the church has further fueled knowledge about Joseph Smith, he said, because theologians have realized they need to understand the founder of the church before they can grasp its deeper doctrines.

As for church members, an informal survey of several people at Temple Square in Salt Lake City showed most were able to identify Joseph Smith Jr. As for the photo of Joseph F. Smith, however, guesses ranged from George Albert Smith to Heber J. Grant — both also LDS prophets.

"We know the prophets, but I just can't call them out that quickly," resident Bette Gleim said.

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Contributing: Nicole Warburton, Carrie Moore

E-mail: estewart@desnews.com