After giving a brief overview of various theories about Book of Mormon origins (e.g., the Spalding theory):
In any case, it’s unlikely that Smith
wrote the Book of Mormon. Examples of his writings contemporary to the creation
of the Book of Mormon betray Smith’s poor literacy, and he seems to have grown
more familiar with the text over time, which is peculiar if he made it up. Despite
its cumbersomeness, the Book of Mormon boasts a complicated narrative involving
some two hundred named characters in many distinct places across the span of
two thousand years. A complex matrix of stories and sermons with plots and
themes is colored with biblically inspired content that reveals an impressive
awareness and comprehension of the Old and New Testaments. It also addresses
pressing theological debates of nineteenth-century American Protestantism,
suggesting whoever wrote it was keenly attuned to the religious Zeitgeist of
the day. If Smith and ancient authors are both excluded from possibilities,
then its authorship remains a mystery. Clues in the text, however, point to an
author (or authors and editors) with an American Protestant background and
immense creativity, capable literary, and theological acumen. From this
perspective, the Book of Mormon is American pseudepigrapha, and the most influential
of its kind ever written. (Kyle Beshears, 40 Questions About Mormonism [Grand
Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Academic, 2026], 112-13)
