Please Explain how Joseph Smith could have possibly authored the Book of Mormon.

Starfish · #1 05-18-2008, 03:51 PM

Here are the facts:

He had the equivalent of approximately a 4th grade education.
His family was very poor and lived in a small, rural community in the early 1800's, lacking many resources and exposure to the world.
He was age 22-23 when he translated the BoM. Age 24 when it was published.
He and his family had to work hard to exist. They were farmers. His time to write was very limited.
There are eyewitesses to the translation. His wife said that he only worked on it for a few months, approx. 3 months.
There are eyewitnesses (11) who testified of seeing the gold plates. Some later left the Church but never refuted what they saw.
There are eyewitnesses who worked as scribes while he translated, describing the process.

This is not a thread for listing "errors" in the book. That's not the point. Please explain to me how it is possible, in light of the facts, that he could make up such a book and pass it off as scripture, fooling millions, including scholars, for nearly 180 years?