Not an accidental discovery.
The twenty-four plates were called the Book of Ether after its author. (Ether
1:2) Their discovery was not an accident. For, when Ether had finished his
record thereon, “he hid them in a manner that the people of Limhi did find
them.” (Ether 15:33) Here is an ideal place to remember that, as the poets have
said, “The accidents of man are the inspirations of God, and the incidents of
this life are the leadings and the guidings of Him who made it.” (George
Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl, Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 7 vols.
[Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1977], 6:8)