Bible: Literal or Figurative??

As a Mormon, I'm often asked if I find the Joseph Smith story a bit unbelievable. People who don't understand us well don't realize how important the Bible is to us so the things that Joseph Smith encountered aren't considered to be more important than the things that happen in the Bible. They just happened more recently. I especially have wondered about the Old Testament and the stories of Noah, Moses, and Jonah, etc. I've wondered if they are literal or allegorical. I came across an article on HuffPo that is on that very topic.

[URL="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-lose/4-good-reasons-not-to-read-bible-literally_b_919345.html"]4 Reasons Not to Read the Bible Literally[/URL]

I like that the author, David Lose, points out that the vessels God chose were men who were fallible and made mistakes. Also that the Bible was written by several people and in the New Testament you get a few different accounts of the same events and they don't always match up exactly. Of course they don't. That is how it always is. When we record an experience we record it according to how it happened as WE experienced it. That's completely natural. Also the Bible was written by men, re-translated by men throughout the ages. THAT would have a bearing on how things are written.

My question is: IS the Bible literal? Or are parts of it metaphoric?