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    The Deseret Alphabet
    A Fixed and Unalterable Sound

    Ryan Shosted (Edited by), N. E. Davis (Edited by)

    9780252089428

    Paperback / softback, published 30 June 2026

    315 pages, 50 b&w images in-text; 7 tables
    22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.513 kg

    "An in-depth and first-rate analysis of the historical, social, and linguistic issues surrounding the Deseret Alphabet, leading up to the 1869 publication of the entire Book of Mormon (and afterwards, up to the present). This book serves as the critical background for a thorough study of the Deseret Alphabet. Highly recommended!"
    —Royal Skousen, editor of The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text

    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    Shosted and Davis draw on a wide range of sources, including previously unpublished archival material, to trace the alphabet's roots in Joseph Smith's esoteric translations and its role in shaping Latter-day Saint identity.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.

    Abbreviations vii
    Phonological representations xiii
    Acknowledgments xvii
    1 Orthographic Reform 19
    2 History, 1837–1858 35
    3 History, 1858–1878 95
    4 Linguistic Perspectives 139
    5 Practical Purposes 199
    6 Social Purposes 229
    7 Spiritual Purposes 257
    8 Afterlife 295
    9 Conclusion 327
    Appendix A Scribes 335
    Appendix B Corpus 341
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