I’d never thought of this before. Thanks for posting. :)

It was, after all, He whose Hand is in all things, that inspired the
King James translators in the first place. That scripture must have
come out something like He had in Mind all along. “And God saw
that it was good.”

And then, according to Joseph Smith, when God sent His messenger to Joseph Smith, Moroni quoted a number of
passages of scripture, “PRECISELY AS THEY STAND IN OUR NEW TESTAMENT.” (Joseph Smith 1:40), as well as other passages, “WITH A LITTLE VARIATION FROM THE WAY IT READS IN OUR BIBLES.” (Joseph Smith 1:36).

I think God LIKES the King James version of the Bible,
and He uses it and reworks it as He sees fit. It is His prerogative.
He created it, after all!

When He works King James English into the Book of Mormon, or has an angel cite it, sometimes it is verbatim, sometimes reworded. All depending upon what His will is regarding the message He wanted transmitted at any given time.

Is it any wonder that He would use the same familiar language and
phrases from His Old and New Testaments as He would in “Another Testament” of His Son?

It may trick us up if we have a disbelieving heart, but He did warn us, after all, that this whole bringing forth of the Book of Mormon would be “a marvelous work and a wonder”! This very discussion
underscores how true that is!!

And if God wants to mix and match His own phrases from the King James Bible, or other sources, in translating the Book of Mormon, who are we to criticize God?

He apparently does the same thing with the way He mixes and matches the same exact portions of DNA in all living things, and mixes and matches life form patterns in the creation of different species. (Those who are “learned in worldly things” try to frame this as evidence of evolutionary diversity, but since there are no
transitions between species, it is clear that each species was
organized distinctly by a Designer, using common patterns to do so!)

But, I digress. Back to how accurately the King James language in the Book of Mormon reflects what God wanted expressed…

We have the testimony of all of the Three Witnesses this was NOT the work of man, but that Joseph Smith READ the translation IN ENGLISH right off the Urim and Thummim, or seer stone. In one place, David Whitmer specifically says that, as Joseph looked upon the Urim and Thummim, “the hieroglyphics would appear, and also the translation in the English language…IN BRIGHT LUMINOUS LETTERS.” (quoted in James H. Hart, “About the Book of Mormon,” Deseret Evening News, 25 Mar. 1884, 2)

This is reminiscent of how we read English sentences in bright luminous letters right off our computer screens, so it shouldn’t be that difficult to conceive of in our modern day.

I’ve heard many members try to say that Joseph Smith turned to the Bible to help him out in the translation. No such thing!

DAVID WHITMER – “I will now give you a description of the manner in which the Book of Mormon was translated. Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it
closely around his face to exclude the light; and in the darkness the spiritual light would shine. A piece of something resembling
parchment would appear, and on that appeared the writing. One
character at a time would appear, and under it was the interpretation in English. BROTHER JOSEPH WOULD READ OFF THE ENGLISH TO OLIVER COWDERY who was his principal scribe, and when it was written down and repeated to Brother Joseph to see if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character with the interpretation would appear. Thus the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, and not by any power of man.” (David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ, 1887, p. 12)

OLIVER COWDERY – “…Oliver Cowdery, one of the three witnesses to the book, testified under oath, that said Smith found with the plates, from which he translated his book, two transparent stones, resembling glass, set in silver bows. THAT BY LOOKING THROUGH THESE, HE WAS ABLE TO READ IN ENGLISH, the reformed Egyptian characters, which were engraved on the plates.” (Evangelical Magazine and Gospel Advocate, NS. Vol. II., Utica, NY, April 9, 1831. No. 15.)

MARTIN HARRIS – “Martin [Harris] explained the translation as follows: By aid of the seer stone, SENTENCES WOULD APPEAR AND WERE READ BY THE PROPHET and written by Martin, and when finished he would say, ‘Written,’ and if correctly written, that sentence would disappear and another appear in its place, but if not written correctly it remained until corrected, so that the translation was just as it was engraven on the plates, precisely in the language then used.” (Myth of the Manuscript Found, 1883 edition, p. 91).

So, thanks, Gramps!! You are 100% correct: “The
explanation is simple… Joseph Smith did not copy the King James
Version of the Bible… Joseph Smith merely wrote down what he was told to write. He was not the translator; God was.”