After Mormon's death, Moroni finished the record and buried it in a hill to preserve it for our day. In 1823 Moroni appeared as an angel to Joseph Smith and showed him where the record was buried. Four years later Joseph was permitted to obtain the records. He "translated the record through the gift and power of God" into English from the ancient language it was written in.3 He then published and distributed the Book of Mormon. (For more on this topic, see 72 in this issue.)