The Deseret Alphabet: A Fixed and Unalterable Sound

Facing starvation and ruin on Utah’s nineteenth-century frontier, Latter-day Saint pioneers launched an audacious experiment to reshape the English language: the Deseret Alphabet. Ryan K. Shosted and N. E. Davis trace the alphabet’s origins in the linguistic vision of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young; explore its contested social, spiritual, and linguistic functions; and examine its decline and modern-day renewal.

Shosted and Davis draw on a wide range of sources, including previously unpublished archival material, to trace the alphabet’s roots in Joseph Smith’s esoteric translations and its role in shaping Latter-day Saint identity. Their account brings together theology, linguistics, and culture. As they show, the Deseret Alphabet remains relevant as a living artifact of a religion wrestling with its visionary origins and the divine potential of words.

In-depth and up to date, The Deseret Alphabet traces the script’s creation, use, and legacy across Latter-day Saint history.

Ryan K. Shosted is a professor of linguistics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. N. E. Davis is an educator, engineer, and computer language designer.