Deseret (Book of Mormon)


Deseret is a term derived from the Book of Mormon, a scripture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other Restoration groups. According to the Book of Mormon, "deseret" meant "honeybee" in the language of the Jaredites, a group believed by Mormons to have been led to the Americas following the construction of the Tower of Babel. LDS scholar Hugh Nibley suggested an etymology by associating the word "Deseret" with the ancient Egyptian dsrt, a term referring to the "bee crown" of the Lower Kingdom.

State of Deseret

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 LDS Church from 1847 to 1877—favored the name as a symbol of industry. Young taught his followers that they should be productive and self-sufficient, a trait he had perceived in honeybees. The Mormons petitioned for statehood as the State of Deseret in 1849–50, but the petition was rejected by the U.S. Congress because of the vast size of the relatively unpopulated area that was controlled exclusively by the LDS Church. Instead, the federal government created Utah Territory, the name of which was derived from the resident Ute Indians meaning "People of the Mountains" according to some sources, though local Ute tribe members such as "Larry Cesspooch, public relations director for the audio/visual department of the Ute Tribe in Fort Duchesne," who states that "the Utes don't even have such a word in their language. He said Utah - Anglicized from "Yuta" - is what the Spanish called the Utes, and his research indicates it meant 'meat eaters.' Cesspooch has used this explanation in various public presentations, and he said he's never been challenged on it." In 1896, Utah Territory gained statehood as Utah.
Some vestiges of the name survive. For example, the state symbol of Utah is a beehive; this emblem is represented on both the state seal, state flag, and marker shields for state highways. The state nickname is the "Beehive State" and the honeybee is Utah's official state insect. The Salt Lake Bees are a minor league baseball team representing Utah in the Pacific Coast League. Named after the original Salt Lake Bees, they were formerly known as the Buzz and the Stingers. "Deseret" appears twice on the Utah stone located on the 220-foot 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: