Editing Deseret (Book of Mormon) (section)

==Proposed State of Deseret==
{{Main|State of Deseret}}
[[File:Utah Territory with Deseret Border, vector image - 2011.svg|thumbnail|right|200px|The provisional 1849 boundaries of the State of Deseret, named after the word for honeybees in the [[Book of Mormon]]. The proposed boundary of Deseret is the dotted line, while the [[Utah Territory]] is blue and outlined in black; boundaries are not exact.]]

Deseret was proposed as a name for the [[U.S. state]] of [[Utah]]. [[Brigham Young]]—governor of [[Utah Territory]] from 1850 to 1858 and [[President of the Church (LDS Church)|president]] of the LDS Church from 1847 to 1877—favored the name as a symbol of industry. Young taught that Church members should be productive and self-sufficient, a trait he had perceived in honeybees.<ref>{{citation |first= Richard D. |last= Poll |authorlink= Richard D. Poll |contribution-url= http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/d/DESERET.html |contribution= Deseret |editor-last= Powell |editor-first= Allan Kent |year= 1994 |title= Utah History Encyclopedia |location= Salt Lake City, Utah |publisher= [[University of Utah Press]] |isbn= 0874804256 |oclc= 30473917 |access-date= October 31, 2013 |archive-date= November 1, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131101224346/http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/d/DESERET.html |url-status= dead }}</ref> 

The Mormons petitioned for statehood as the [[State of Deseret]] during 1849–50, but the petition was rejected by the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]] because of the vast size of the relatively unpopulated area that was controlled by the LDS Church. Instead, the federal government created [[Utah Territory]]. 

The name is often thought to be derived from the resident [[Ute Tribe|Ute]] Indians and mean "People of the Mountains". However, local Ute tribe members, such as Larry Cesspooch, public relations director for the audio/visual department of the Ute Tribe in Fort Duchesne, stated that "the Utes don't even have such a word in their language."  He said that Utah - Anglicized from "Yuta" - is what the Spanish called the Utes, and his research indicates that it meant "meat eaters". Cesspooch has used this explanation in various public presentations, and has said that he's never been challenged on it.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deseretnews.com/article/363685/UTAH--THE-RIDDLE-BEHIND-THE-NAME.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180519052950/https://www.deseretnews.com/article/363685/UTAH--THE-RIDDLE-BEHIND-THE-NAME.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 19, 2018|title= Utah: The Riddle Behind The Name|publisher=Deseret News Publishing Company|accessdate=2018-09-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.utah.gov/about/quickfacts.html|title=Quick Facts about Utah's history and land|publisher=Utah.gov|accessdate=2009-01-05|archive-date=February 22, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070222134346/http://www.utah.gov/about/quickfacts.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{citation |first= Edward Leo |last= Lyman |contribution= Statehood for Utah |url= http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/s/STATEHOOD.html |editor-last= Powell |editor-first= Allan Kent |year= 1994 |title= Utah History Encyclopedia |location= Salt Lake City, Utah |publisher= [[University of Utah Press]] |isbn= 0874804256 |oclc= 30473917 |url-status= dead |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20131101131036/http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/s/STATEHOOD.html |archivedate= 2013-11-01 }}</ref> In 1896, Utah Territory gained statehood as [[Utah]].

Some vestiges of the name survive. For example, the state symbol of Utah is a [[beehive (beekeeping)|beehive]]; this emblem is represented on both the [[Seal of Utah|state seal]], [[Flag of Utah|state flag]], and marker shields for [[List of Utah State Routes|state highways]]. The state nickname is the "Beehive State" and the honeybee is [[List of Utah state symbols|Utah's official]] "[[List of U.S. state insects|state insect]]".<ref>{{citation |first= Linda |last= Thatcher |contribution= Utah State Symbols |contribution-url= http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/u/UTAH_STATE_SYMBOLS.html  |editor-last= Powell |editor-first= Allan Kent |year= 1994 |title= Utah History Encyclopedia |location= Salt Lake City, Utah |publisher= [[University of Utah Press]] |isbn= 0874804256 |oclc= 30473917 }}</ref> The [[Salt Lake Bees]] are a minor league baseball team representing Utah in the [[Pacific Coast League]]. Named after the original Salt Lake Bees (PCL, 1915–26), they were formerly known as the Buzz (1994–2000) and the Stingers (2001–05). "Deseret" appears twice on the Utah stone located on the {{convert|220|ft|m|adj=on}} landing of the [[Washington Monument]].