[S]ome propose that the Book of Mormon is neither a fraud nor a divine work. I fail, however, to follow this line of reasoning. If there were no golden plates or angel Moroni or Nephite civilization, then every name and place in the Book of Mormon is an untruth, and every written word is a deception, because it is all presented as though it were the actual history of an ancient civilization and the actual words of prophets of God. Such would be a fraud, and frauds do not lend themselves to godly works. On the other hand, if there were golden plates, an angel Moroni, an ancient civilization, prophets of God, and a visit of Christ, all as described in the Book of Mormon, then, subject to any minor imperfections of men, it is the divine Work of God . . . Some use phrases such as “pious fraud” to describe the book. This is an oxymoron and makes no sense. The Book of Mormon cannot be both pious (meaning “holy”) and a fraud (meaning “deceitful”) at the same time. (Tad R. Callister, A Case for the Book of Mormon [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2019], 5-6, 10 n. 5)
Further Reading
Stephen O. Smoot, Et Incarnatus Est: The Imperative for Book of Mormon Historicity
