Editing Deseret (Book of Mormon)

{{short description|Term meaning honeybee in the Book of Mormon}}
{{use mdy dates |date=October 2022}}
{{Book of Mormon}}
'''Deseret''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=en-us-Deseret.ogg|d|ɛ|z|ə|ˈ|r|ɛ|t}};<ref>[http://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/scriptures/bofm/pronunciation churchofjesuschrist.org: "Book of Mormon Pronunciation Guide"] (retrieved 2012-02-25), [[Wikipedia:IPA for English|IPA]]-ified from «dĕz-a-rĕt´»</ref> [[Deseret alphabet|Deseret]]: 𐐔𐐯𐑅𐐨𐑉𐐯𐐻) is a term derived from the [[Book of Mormon]], a scripture of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) and other [[Latter Day Saint movement|Latter Day Saint]] groups. According to the Book of Mormon, "deseret"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://churchofjesuschrist.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/2.3?lang=eng#2|title=Book of Mormon Reference in the Book of Ether, Chapter 2, Verse 3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bycommonconsent.com/2006/11/bcc-papers-1-2-barney/|title=On the Etymology of Deseret|date=3 November 2006 |publisher=by Kevin L. Barney, BCC Papers|accessdate=2009-01-13}}</ref> meant "[[honeybee]]"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://farms.byu.edu/publications/review/?vol=20&num=1&id=694|title=A Brief Survey of Ancient Near Eastern Beekeeping|publisher=by Ronan James Head, FARMS Review|accessdate=2009-01-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090527082730/http://farms.byu.edu/publications/review/?vol=20&num=1&id=694|archive-date=2009-05-27|url-status=dead}}</ref> in the language of the [[Jaredite]]s, a group in the Book of Mormon that were led by God to the Americas after the construction of the [[Tower of Babel]] (see {{sourcetext|source=Book of Mormon (1981)|book=Ether|chapter=2|verse=3}}). Latter-day Saint scholar [[Hugh Nibley]] (extending the work of Egyptologist Sir [[Alan Gardiner]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gardiner|first1=Alan|title=Egyptian Grammar|date=1982|publisher=Oxford|pages=73–74|edition=3rd}}</ref>) suggested an etymology by associating the word "Deseret" with the ancient Egyptian ''[[deshret]]'' ([[Egyptian hieroglyphs|Egyptian]]: 𓂧𓈙𓂋𓏏𓋔), a term he translated as the "[[Deshret|bee crown]]" of the [[Lower Egypt|Lower Kingdom]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Nibley|first1=Hugh|title=Lehi in the Desert, The World of the Jaredites|date=1955|publisher=Bookcraft|location=Salt Lake City, UT|pages=177–178|url=http://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1106&index=17|language=en|access-date=2016-08-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022095058/http://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1106&index=17|archive-date=2016-10-22|url-status=dead}}</ref> but which non-LDS scholarly sources translate as the "Red Crown".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Allen |first=James P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lF78Max-h8MC&pg=PA184 |title=Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs |date=2010-04-15 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-48635-4 |edition=2nd |pages=184 |language=en}}</ref>

==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]].

==Other uses==
Various businesses and organizations use "Deseret" as part of their name, particularly those that have connections to the LDS Church. Examples include:
*[[Deseret alphabet]] — a non-[[Latin alphabet|Latin]] [[phonetics|phonetic]] [[alphabet]] developed during the mid-19th century by the board of regents of the University of Deseret ([[University of Utah]]) as directed by Brigham Young
*[[Deseret Book]] — the world's largest LDS bookstore chain
*Deseret First Credit Union — formerly known as the LDS Church Employees Credit Union
*[[Deseret Industries]] — a Utah-based thrift store
*[[Deseret Nation]] — an [[alt-right]] Twitter grouping of LDS Church members
*''[[Deseret News]]'' — Utah's second-largest daily [[newspaper]]
*[[Deseret Ranch]] —  a large [[cattle ranch]] in Florida, United States
*[[Deseret, Utah]] — a village

{{Portal|Latter-day Saints}}

==References==
{{Reflist|1}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deseret (Book Of Mormon)}}
[[Category:History of Utah]]
[[Category:History of the Latter Day Saint movement]]
[[Category:Book of Mormon words and phrases]]
[[Category:Insects in religion]]