Many of these perplexities arise from the fact that Joseph Smith essentially said that the BoM is an inspired translation. If I am not mistaken, there is no copy, in the language it was originally written. However, if he was true in his claim, it matters not--the translation into English is inspired. If so, he could have written in Ebonics, and no one could really criticize it. Do I understand this correctly? It was "inspired" in that it was done with the power of G-d. Joseph had no secular ability to translate the plates. Although it was "inspired" it was nonetheless a translation that was done through a translator. Elements of Joseph (the translator) inevitably found their way into the text. He did not become a mindless puppet during the translation process. In fact, scripture seems to suggest the exact opposite (see D&C 9, namely verse 8) Perhaps you could be correct in this.. No matter what language the BoM is written in, there will be those who continue to question the validity of it. As near as I can tell, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only Church that says basically, "You are welcome to investigate at your leisure" ... (this is my first post/reply here, so I can only hope that I have done it correctly, if not, I have erred, and I should be corrected) ...
