The Stoddards (who are Young Earth Creationists
and believe Adam and Eve were the first humans on this planet) wrote the following:
. . .God
restored His priesthood through Joseph Smith, the restorer and Head of this
dispensation, who stands next to the Son of God in righteousness and holiness
as a pure and holy vessel. (L. Hannah Stoddard and James F. Stoddard III, Faith
Crisis Volume 1: We Were Not Betrayed! [Salem, Utah: Joseph Smith
Foundation 2020], 92)
In a footnote to the above, we read:
. . . Hyrum Smith: “There were prophets before
Adam, and Joseph has the spirit and power of all the Prophets.” Joseph Smith
History, 1838-1856, volume E-1, April 28, 1844, p. 2025, Joseph Smith Papers. (Ibid.,
92 n. 14)
The Stoddards shot themselves in the foot by referencing Hyrum Smith affirming belief in Pre-Adamites. Interestingly, Hyrum was not a lone voice in the early Church in affirming such. Firstly, the above, while a record of Hyrum's words, appears in the journal for Joseph Smith, so we have the founding prophet of the Restoration as a witness to pre-Adamites. Other LDS who knew Joseph and Hyrum also taught this. In a sermon dated October 6, 1854, Orson Hyde taught that Adam and Eve were not the first humans on this planet; instead, there was a pre-Adamite population:
Of course, the Stoddards will reject Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith and Orson Hyde and their affirmation of pre-Adamites. Again, this shows that the Stoddards and the others within the more cult-like segments of the Heartland movement engage in a double-standard. They are perfectly free to reject the teachings of Joseph Smith on an issue when it suits then, but when other Latter-day Saints (e.g., those at FairMormon) were to do the same, it is a sign of apostasy, regressive leftism, and other evils.