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I started reading the Book of Mormon in order to get a better grasp of its believability, but after only a few pages, I quickly grew tired of the writing.  It seemed that the phrase "it came to pass" was in almost every verse.  I decided to use my software copy of the Book of Mormon to count exactly how many times that phrase was used.  The results and analysis are below.

Book of Mormon Verses Came to Pass Used Old Testament Verses Came to Pass Used New Testament Verses Came to Pass Used
Jarom 15 4 Jonah 48 1 1 Thessalonians 89 1
Words of Mormon 18 5 Ruth 85 3 Mark 678 4
Enos 27 6 Amos 146 1 Acts 1007 15
Omni 30 13 Ester 167 4 Matthew 1071 6
4 Nephi 49 20 Zechariah 211 1 Luke 1151 40
Jacob 203 47 Daniel 357 2 Total 3996 66
Mormon 227 64 Nehemiah 406 13      
2 Nephi (779*) 433 16 Judges 618 26      
Ether 433 165 Joshua 658 29      
Helaman 497 120 2 Samuel 695 26      
1 Nephi 628 200 2 Kings 719 36      
3 Nephi 785 130 1 Samuel 787 34      
Mosiah 785 153 1 Kings 816 40      
Alma 974 415 2 Chronicles 822 19      
Total 5104 1358 Leviticus 859 1      
*Although there are 779 total verses in 2 Nephi, 14 of the 33 chapters are copied directly from Isaiah, so the verse count is based on only the remaining chapters.

 1 Chronicles 942 9      
Deuteronomy 959 5      
Exodus 1213 26      
      Isaiah 1266 6      
      Ezekial 1271 15      
      Numbers 1288 10      
      Jeremiah 1364 21      
      Genesis 1533 63      
      Total 17230 391      

I've sorted the books in each of the Book of Mormon, Old Testament, and New Testament in order of size by verse count. One can easily see from the chart the dramatic difference between Book of Mormon "authors" and the contemporary authors of the Bible. The extensive use of the phrase "it came to pass" in the Book of Mormon across all of the books, I believe, suggest a single author. The author, of course, in an attempt to make his work appear biblical in nature would use such words and phrases. It is not only that the phrase is used excessively, but also that the phrase is used inappropriately. Here are a few examples:

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, returned from speaking with the Lord, to the tent of my father. And it came to pass that he spake unto me, saying: Behold I have dreamed a dream, in the which the Lord hath commanded me that thou and thy brethren shall return to Jerusalem." - 1 Nephi 3:1-2

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them. And it came to pass that when my father had heard these words he was exceedingly glad, for he knew that I had been blessed of the Lord." - 1 Nephi 3:7-8

"And it came to pass that a long time passed away, and the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant: Come, let us go down into the vineyard, that we may labor in the vineyard. And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard, and also the servant, went down into the vineyard to labor. And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master: Behold, look here; behold the tree. And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard looked and beheld the tree in the which the wild olive branches had been grafted" - Jacob 5:15-17

One can see in that in each of these quotes, that the phrase "it came to pass" is used not to denote that a great deal of time has passed, as one would expect, but only minutes or even seconds. In the third quote, especially, the author writes, "it came to pass that a long time passed away." Is anyone else thinking HEH?!? and scratching their head? This pattern of poor writing is consistent throughout the Book of Mormon, as the graph depicts.

I tested my budding theory on the word "exceedingly," which also occurs frequently in the Book of Mormon. The chart and table are below.

Old Testament Verses Exceedingly used New Testament Verses Exceedingly used Book of Mormon Verses Exceedingly used
Obadiah 21 0 2 John 13 0 Jarom 15 5
Haggai 38 0 3 John 14 0 Words of Mormon 18 0
Nahum 47 0 Philemon 25 0 Enos 27 2
Jonah 48 3 Jude 25 0 Omni 30 2
Zephaniah 53 0 Titus 46 0 4 Nephi 49 7
Malachi 55 0 2 Thessalonians 47 1 Moroni 163 5
Habakkuk 56 0 2 Peter 61 0 Jacob 203 6
Joel 73 0 2 Timothy 83 0 Mormon 227 4
Ruth 85 0 1 Thessalonians 89 1 2 Nephi (779 total) 433 7
Micah 105 0 Colossians 95 0 Ether 433 34
Song of Solomon 117 0 Philippians 104 0 Helaman 497 31
Amos 146 0 1 Peter 105 0 1 Nephi 628 36
Lamentations 154 0 1 John 105 0 Mosiah 785 20
Esther 167 1 James 108 0 3 Nephi 785 20
Hosea 197 0 1 Timothy 113 0 Alma 974 88
Zechariah 211 0 Galatians 149 1 Total 5267 267
Ecclesiastes 222 0 Ephesians 155 0      
Ezra 280 0 2 Corinthians 257 1      
Daniel 357 1 Hebrews 303 1      
Nehemiah 406 1 Revelation 404 0      
Judges 618 0 Romans 433 0      
Joshua 658 0 1 Corinthians 437 0      
2 Samuel 695 1 Mark 678 2      
2 Kings 719 1 John 879 0      
1 Samuel 787 1 Acts 1007 3      
1 Kings 816 0 Matthew 1071 1      
2 Chronicles 822 3 Luke 1151 0      
Leviticus 859 0 Total 7957 11      
Proverbs 915 0            
1 Chronicles 942 1            
Deuteronomy 959 0            
Job 1070 1            
Exodus 1213 0            
Isaiah 1266 1            
Ezekial 1271 0            
Numbers 1288 0            
Jeremiah 1364 0            
Genesis 1533 8            
Psalms 2461 5            
Total 23094 28            

One can see the similarities between this chart and the "came to pass" chart. In both cases, the phrases are used exponentially more in the Book of Mormon. Of the books which had the phrase "it came to pass" used at least once, it is used in only 2.26% of the Old Testament verses, 1.65% of the New Testament verses, but in over 26.6% of the Book of Mormon verses. The word "exceedingly" is only used in 0.12% of the Old Testament verses, and only 0.14% of the New Testament verses, while it is used in over 5.06% of the Book of Mormon verses. Remember also, that the Book of Mormon, unlike the Bible, was supposedly written on golden plates. I wonder if Nephi ever got tired of etching "it came to pass" onto those golden plates . . . he only had to write it 200 times. Of course, he didn't have it half as bad as poor Alma, who wrote that fun phrase 415 times. I wonder if he just made some sort of stamp with "it came to pass" on it, so that he could just hammer the phrase or symbols in when necessary . . .

Finally, one other phrase caught my attention while reading the Book of Mormon. The phrase "in other words" struck me as a relatively contemporary phrase, not biblical in nature, but something that Joseph Smith may have used often. That phrase is used 12 times in the Book of Mormon across four different books (1 Nephi, Mosiah, Alma, and 3 Nephi). It is not used even once in the entire Bible, but it is used 23 times in Doctrine & Covenants and once in the Pearl of Great Price. Below are a few examples of its use, which raise doubts about the alleged authors of the books in the Book of Mormon.

"Behold, I have dreamed a dream; or, in other words, I have seen a vision." -1 Nephi 8:2

"even a Messiah, or, in other words, a Savior of the World." -1 Nephi 10:4

The first verse points out that a vision is the same as a dream and the second verse points out the meaning of Messiah, explanations that strike me as unnecessary, especially when Nephi was allegedly making these statements on golden plates (1 Nephi 10:1).

A Mormon apologist recently informed me that the phrase "in other words" was used by the Egyptians, in an attempt to dismiss the basis for my argument. In relooking at this argument, it occurred to me that it was not the perceived contemporary nature of the phrase that bothered me, but that the phrase is more commonly used in verbal statements, while the speaker is still figuring out the best way to say something. If Nephi were the actual author of these words, I believe he would have been more succinct while etching them on golden plates.

Some additional examples of this phrase, which are attributed directly to Joseph Smith, suggest that Joseph Smith is more likely the author of those words attributed to Nephi:

"And again, I say unto you, I give unto you a new commandment, that you may understand my will concerning you; Or, in other words, I give unto you directions how you may act before me, that it may turn to you for your salvation." - Doctrine & Covenants, 82:8-9

"Verily, I say unto my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., or in other words, I will call you friends, for you are my friends, and ye shall have an inheritance with me— " - Doctrine & Covenants, 93:45

"And let the higher part of the inner court be dedicated unto me for the school of mine apostles, saith Son Ahman; or, in other words, Alphus; or, in other words, Omegus; even Jesus Christ your Lord. Amen" - Doctrine & Covenants, 95:17

You can find many other examples at lds.org. I'm not even sure what Joseph Smith was trying to say in the second quote, but this poor writing is common throughout the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith's other writings.

I believe that all of this evidence, though it is admittedly speculative, suggests that Joseph Smith was the single author of the Book of Mormon, that it was not translated, but produced from his very creative imagination.