KnoWhy #273 - Why Did the Book of Mormon Come Forth as a Miracle? (2 Nephi 27:23)

Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught that “we may find strengthened faith in considering how marvelous and wondrous the translation [of the Book of Mormon] really was.” Somehow, inside of three months, Joseph Smith was able to produce—in the presence of multiple scribes and witnesses—a lengthy, complex, consistent, and theologically rich historical record. Despite frequent interruptions, he accomplished this in one draft, day after day, picking up right where he left off, and without any working notes or reference materials. Not only do the testimonies from multiple scribes and observers strongly agree on the essential details of this process, but their story has been abundantly confirmed by various types of scribal evidences from the original and printer’s manuscripts. Such a miraculous and well documented historical feat offers remarkable evidence that Joseph Smith was a true prophet and that the text he produced truly came forth, as Nephi foresaw, by the “gift and power of the lamb.”