The Book of Mormon "translation" pantomime

Carrying on from my previous post on the “translation” of the 116 pages of the Book of Mormon, one thing that has always troubled me, is how Emma would describe that JS could just resume translation at any time and “begin where he left off without any hesitation”. He was thus able to verbalise the entire book, word for word without backtracking or correcting what was previously dictated.

So how did he dictate one continuous speech equating to the text of the Book of Mormon, without gaps or disjointed sentences? 

First, let’s look at the facts:

1. The accounts we have from eyewitnesses on the BoM "translation" process vary. One account will make reference to a specific method/process of "translation" that is completely different to another eyewitness’s account. So in reading one account one cannot assume that's how the whole book was "translated" - Emma herself contradicted her earlier statements when older.
2. Regardless of who was acting as scribe at any time, no one ever saw the golden plates present. In fact eyewitness accounts describe the plates were often covered in the corner of the room or not even present (sometimes even buried outside in the field). Hence, this was not a "translation".
3. The first 116 pages were produced using the “Urim and Thummin” and it was mostly this portion that Emma assisted in translating (along with Martin Harris). This has been described as JS sitting at a table with a blanket raised between JS and the scribe [1]. Thus, if JS was hidden from view, whatever was being dictated could possibly have been sourced directly from notes (although I think this is unlikely).
4. The rest of the BoM (what we have today) was translated via the “seer stone” (“a chocolate-colored, somewhat egg-shaped stone”[2]) he found on his neighbour’s (Willard Chase) farm in 1822. JS would read out lines while his head was buried in a hat. Again, the golden plates were not used nor required. This process was witnessed by both David Whitmer [3] and Oliver Cowdery.
5. Most of the BoM account we now have, was scribed by Oliver Cowdery [4] - He described how he “wrote with my own pen the intire book of Mormon (save a few pages) as it fell from the Lips of the prophet”[5]. This affirms that JS did not need to collude with many scribes [6]. Oliver Cowdery incidentally was JS's second cousin [7]. 

Now let’s pose a few possibilities:

1. As suggested above, during the times that there was a blanket between JS and the scribe (e.g. Emma), it’s quite possible he could simply been reading from a wad of foolscap. This method is in question, as Emma also reflected later that the translation took place via the head in hat method, which contradicts her earlier account. Personally, the risk of being caught would outweigh the likelihood this theory is valid.
2. JS would memorise a page of manuscript at a time beforehand. So the head in the hat process was JS reciting what he had just memorised. 
3. The manuscript was already written (or transcribed in private), and the pages dictated in front of others were only for show, and not used. I believe this is the most likely, especially considering the significant portions of word for word KJV Bible passages.

Conclusion:

My view is that most of the "translation" process took place behind closed doors and hence could be simply a transcribing process by Oliver Cowdery. This would also explain why there are significant sections matching the exact (and unique) wording of the 1796 edition of the KJV of the Bible (which were later corrected in subsequent editions of the KJV). 

In the cases where there were other scribes or witnesses, this process was purely for show, to deceive, EXACTLY as in the past when JS used THIS SAME METHOD (head in hat with peep stone) to deceive his neighbours that he was able to see hidden treasures. The small amounts of translations done during these periods were either later discarded, or if were kept, were previously memorised portions.

Of course, all of this aside, as previously posted, why would God require all this smoke and mirrors to bring forth his "marvellous work and a wonder"? Why make the plates at all if they were not used? Why create and preserve a "Urim and Thummim" that was never used for the end product we have today? Why so many errors from a divinely inspired translation (apparently God is ignorant of acceptable English grammar)?

Instead of utilising a "translation" process that creates all the dilemmas above, a 100% accurate translation could have been produced many other more "Godly" ways:

1. Transform the characters on the golden plates into a language anyone could transcribe (e.g. Hebrew, or wait...English!!). Then have any faithful servant (or many!) perform the work directly from the plates that anyone could translate and verify! 
2. God could snap His fingers and produce a perfect translation out of thin air - no issues with lost translations, mistranslations, incorrect grammar or questionable translation methods.

So either, God has failed once again in producing the "most correct book on earth", OR, me thinks instead...(wait for it)...JS simply made it all up!

So for now, cross off yet another Church History question from my list!

Notes:

[1] Wikipedia - Golden plates

[2] B. H. Roberts - A Comprehensive History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
[3] "I will now give you a description of the manner in which the Book of Mormon was translated. Joseph 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. A piece of something resembling parchment would appear, and on that appeared the writing." (An Address to All Believers in Christ, by David Whitmer, 1887, p.12)
[4] "Little is known about the actual process of translating the record, primarily because those who knew the most about the translation, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, said the least about it. Moreover, Martin Harris, David Whitmer, and Emma Smith, who assisted Joseph, left no contemporary descriptions. The sketchy accounts they recorded much later in life were often contradictory." - Church History In The Fulness Of Times Student Manual, (2003), 52–66
[5] Journal of Reuben Miller, Oct. 1848, Archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
[6] How the Mormon Church Created the Cowdery Myth
[7] GENEALOGY OF OLIVER COWDERY

References:

The Spectacles, the Stone, the Hat, and the Book: A Twenty-first Century Believer’s View of the Book of Mormon Translation

Dan Vogel - Joseph Smith's magic spectacles - transcript
Translation of the Book of Mormon