Edited sentence: "inspired fiction").Before engaging in any consideration, or deliberation concerning the origin of the book of Mormon, there is one salient fact that should be considered.Clearly he was no stranger to defrauding people.He was convicted of fraud in a court of law, not long before he claimed to have received golden plates from an angel.His dishonesty is a matter of public record.How much more difficult should it be for one to accept these fantastical claims of golden plates received from an angel when they come from the lips of a known fraud.I think it is important to note this fact, which speaks to Joseph Smith's character, before considering the veracity of his claims.It would be difficult for most people to accept the claims that he made, even if they had come from an honest man.Joseph Smith as a plagiarist of contemporaries.Joseph Smith as the sole author, without external assistance.Joseph Smith was a convicted fraud.Joseph Smith's own account that he translated an ancient record compiled and abridged by Mormon, a pre-Columbian resident of the Western Hemisphere who recorded the spiritual history of generations of his people, and the teachings of their ancestors, the Hebrews.One line of thinking proposed by several authors is that the Book of Mormon is a "primary source" reflecting events in Smith's own life.One of Smith's associates as the author, who then allowed Smith to take the credit.The book was written by Joseph Smith through a process known as "automatic writing.The information contained in this paragraph is taken from "god is not Great" by Christopher Hitchens.The work is a demonically, or non-divinely inspired narrative.The work is a divinely inspired narrative regardless of its historicity (i.There are differing views on the origin of the Book of Mormon.There are two main theories representing this point-of-view: The View of the Hebrews theory, and the Spalding-Rigdon theory.These theories assume that Smith lacked the intelligence and/or education to create the book on his own, and therefore had to rely on his more educated contemporaries and their works.These theories assume that Smith was educated and intelligent enough to have produced the work on his own.This view has been held by many Christian churches since the appearance of the Book of Mormon