Deseret alphabet

Uncommon card · No. 110518

The Deseret alphabet ( ; Deseret: 𐐔𐐯𐑅𐐨𐑉𐐯𐐻 or 𐐔𐐯𐑆𐐲𐑉𐐯𐐻) is a phonemic English-language spelling reform developed between 1847 and 1854 by the board of regents of the University of Deseret under the leadership of Brigham Young, the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). George D. Watt is reported to have been the most actively involved in the development of the script's novel characters, which were used to replace those of the 1847 version of Isaac Pitman's English phonotypic alphabet. He was also the "New Alphabet's" first serious user. The script gets its name from the word deseret, a term that occurs only once in the Book of Mormon, which is said to mean "honeybee" in the only verse it is used in. This reformation of English orthography was believed by its creators to be a first step to the ultimate restoration of Adamic language. The Deseret alphabet was an outgrowth of the Restorationist idealism and utopianism of Young and the early LDS Church...

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