In Mosiah Chapter 8 king Limhi tells the visiting Ammon about an expedition that:
discovered a land which was covered with bones of men, and of beasts, and was also covered with ruins of buildings of every kind, having discovered a land which had been peopled with a people who were as numerous as the hosts of Israel.
And for a testimony that the things that they had said are true they have brought twenty-four plates which are filled with engravings, and they are of pure gold.
Mosiah 8:8-9
The king wants to know what happened to these people and asks if Ammon knows anyone who could translate the plates that were recovered from the site. Ammon tells Limhi about King Mosiah II.
Now Ammon said unto him: I can assuredly tell thee, O king, of a man that can translate the records; for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date; and it is a gift from God. And the things are called interpreters, and no man can look in them except he be commanded, lest he should look for that he ought not and he should perish. And whosoever is commanded to look in them, the same is called seer.
Mosiah 8:13
Joseph Smith was a Seer. He had the “interpreters” and used them to translate engraved plates. In his day, the idea of a device that could show “things which are past, and also … things which are to come” (Mosiah 8:17) was either accepted as a matter of steadfast faith or rejected as an outrageous deception.
Nowadays, the idea does not seem so implausible. Today, we can “look in” our smartphones and “see” all sorts of things (including things we “ought not”). Modern technology cannot “see” into the future in the prophetic way described in the scriptures, but we can get a pretty reliable weather forecast several days ahead — and our devices are getting quite good at translation.
Certainly God can create (or inspire someone to invent) any device He wishes to further His purposes. Joseph Smith was simply using the tools he was given to do the task he was assigned. And his description of the process, rather than being scandalous, is really quite mundane.