Background
According to Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon was originally engraved on golden plates, which he received in 1827 from an angel named Moroni, whom Smith identified as a resurrected inhabitant of the American continent. Smith claimed to translate the original text into English, from what the text of the book says is "Reformed Egyptian". The book itself was published in 1830.
The Book of Mormon is claimed to represent the history of some part of the Americas, and its inhabitants, from c. 2500 BC to 400 AD, thus putting it within the pre-Columbian era.
Critics claim that its origin lies firmly in the 19th century, and that Smith created the book with the resources available to him, including the King James Version of the Bible.
Unlike the Bible, no manuscripts in the supposed original language of the Book of Mormon are known to exist. No Reformed Egyptian manuscripts or plates have ever been excavated by archaeologists.
Read more about this topic: Book Of Mormon Anachronisms
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