“During our evening conversations, Joseph would … describe the ancient inhabitants of this continent … as if he had spent his whole life among them.” (History of Joseph Smith by His Mother, page 83)

Mormons claim Joseph Smith didn’t have the ability to invent the stories in the Book of Mormon, but we disagree with that claim. Joseph’s mother, Lucy Mack Smith, explained how Joseph Smith had a vivid imagination and would often entertain his family with detailed stories he would imagine about the native Americans (the “ancient inhabitants of this continent”) which form the basis of the Book of Mormon stories. His retelling of these imagined people would be so explicit he would describe “their dress, mode of traveling … their cities, their buildings with every particular; their mode of warfare; and also their religious worship. This he would do with as much ease, seemingly, as if he had spent his whole life among them.” (History of Joseph Smith by His Mother, page 83)

Since Joseph Smith clearly had the ability to imagine such detailed stories about the Native Americans before he received the Gold Plates for the Book of Mormon, it would not have been difficult for Joseph Smith to make up the stories in the Book of Mormon without divine inspiration.