dblagent007 wrote:This evidence does not support theories that Joseph Smith composed the text himself or that he took the text from some other source. Instead, it indicates that the Lord exercised what I refer to as "tight control" over the word-by-word translation of the Book of Mormon. In particular, the evidence suggests that Joseph Smith saw specific words written out in English and read them off to the scribe, and that the accuracy of the resulting text depended on the carefulness of Joseph and his scribe. Indeed, this evidence is most compatible with the account that Joseph himself gave, that he translated the Book of Mormon "by the gift and power of God."
The tight theory has a huge problem. The language and grammar of the original, as Skousen ought to well know, reads like it was written by a country bumpkin. Hence the need for the 3,000+ changes to the text. Maybe God would reveal his most important work, word for word, using horrible grammar and syntax. Maybe, just maybe (or NOT).
Well, nobody said Mormon god was educated, have they? And Mormonism in particular has hedged a great deal on what god's omniscience includes.