DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 226 325 CS 006 994

,AUTHOR Grover, Susan Hendri6ts;'Cranney, A. Garr TITLE Reading on the Utah Frontier', 1850-1877:The History of the Deseret Alphabet. . PUB DATE 82 NOTE 95p.; Some examples in appendix willnot be legible. PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070)

EDRS PRICE' MEP1/PC04 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Alphabets; Diachronic Linguistics;Educational History; *Letters (Alphabet); *OrthograpfiicSymbols; *Reading Instruction; *Spelling;State of the Art Reviews; Written Language IDENTIFIERS *Deseret Alphabet; 'Mormons; Utah ABSTRACT This report presents a*.historyof-the Deseret "alphabet,.beginnjing.witha chapter on English orthography in general and the various attempts that have beenmade in orthographic reform. The second chapter examines the motives behindthe creation of the Deseret alphabet, including,the possibilities ofa secret Mormon code, a protection fromunwholesome'literature, a case of being in the 'right place at the right time,a phonetic English orthography, ana ayreriaration fona pure language. The third chapter traces the- roots of the Deseret alphabet: the roots (pre-1850),the' developmental period (185?-1857), and the risesand falls (1858-181Z7). The remaining threechapters examine the practical applicatiOn of the alpflabet,' its,successesand failures, and the 6rfett the alphabet had,on Englishorthography. Appendixes includea table of common English,,spellings, the initialteaching alphabet, the Deseret=alphabet, an alphabet.comparison table:Remy's version, a title page to exercises inPhonography, a flyer on secret "Mormon Laeg §e," txacings of a coin with theDeseret alphabet, the Deseret alph bet Firstliook, a sectioeon play from the Deseret Second Book,4 "Tw.nkle, Twinkle Little Star" in Deserefcharacters, the title page" ,and table of contents of "The Book of Mormon".inDeseret characters, th minutes of the Parowan State 1,855 inthe Deseret alphabet wlth tr nslation, a journal page of Thomas Haskell 'addhis version of the D seret alphabet, tracings froma tombstone with Deseret characters, nd the "Deseret Nevi" printing of the"Sermon/on. the Mount." HOBO

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Poorts tO ot a co oportony st...111,1ti thIS dock, 'bent do not n rely rvpreyent officral Nil Reading on the Utah Frontier, 1850-1877: ,,,,a.t,otLir pt co. y

The History of/theDeseret Alphabet

Susan Hendricks Grover

A. Garr-Cranney

A

"PERMISSION TO REPRODUCETHI9 MATERIAL HASBEEN'GRANTED BY Susan HendricksGrover A. Garr Cramney

TO THE EDUCATIONALRESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)"

Brigham Young UniverSity

1982 Contents

Page

Chapter

1. English Orthography 1

Attempts at English OrthographicReform 3

The Mormon Attempt . . . 5

2.. The Motives Behind:theCrea,tion of the Deseret Alphabet -12

A Secret Code. 12

A Protection from UnwholesomeLiterature 13

,The Right Place at the RightTime 14

A Phonetic English Orthography 16

A Preparation for a Pure Language 20

3. The Hisibry of the Deseret Alphabet 23

The Roots, pre-1850 23

The Developmental Period, 1852-1857 24

Rises and'Falls, 18581877 27'

4. Practical Application of the DeseretAlphabet 35

5. Successes and Failures of the /DeseretAlphabet . . ; 41

6. The Effect of the Deseret Alphabet 49

References 55

Appendixes ,

A. Tablef Common English Spellings P , 56-57

B. The'LltAtial Teaching Alphabet ' 58

C. The Deseret Alphabet 59-60 , I

Contents (Contisnued ) , ; Page

D. Alphabet Cornpar,i son Table 61-62 , E. Remy's _Version 63 F. Title Rage to Exercises in Phonography . . 64 1 G. Flyer. on Secret "Mormon Language" .65 H. Coin with the Deseret 'Alphabet 66

I.Deseret Alphabet First Book 67-68 J.Section' on Play from. Deseret , Second Book 69 % K; "Twinkle, Twinkle Little .Sta'rl'inDeseret Characters... 70

L. The Book of. Mormon in Deseret Characters 71-72

M.". .The Minutes ofthe Parowan Stake 1855 in theDeseret Alphabet with Translation 73-81 N. Journal Page of Thomas Haskell 'sand, His Versio.n of the Deseret Alphabet 4 i, 82 .0. Tombttone with Deseret Character.S ;I: 83 P. Deseret Ne4ws Printing of the "Sermon On s. the Mount"...-. 84

,

( 1 4

/ i ii I cf4 4 .1

:Kr

Chapter-1 1' English Orthography

. .

As both a teacher of critTcal readihg and asa tutor in the Reading

Lab at BYU,I often work with students, who have problemswith English

phonetics. RecenVy Jerry:--a bright student with a poor readingand vocabulary background--lOokeb atme Over the,top offa drilin spotting the silent e and complained: "Why'do they make Englishso hard? Why don't they have oneway.to do it that fits all thetime?" Jerry is not

alone in her'frustrationover English orthography.

George and Evelyn-Spache, two nbtedr'authoritieson reading skills,

point out that "thereare a disturbing numbe.r of exceptions to almostany [phonetic] geheralizktiov [or rule] thaican be framed."1 In other words, the phonetic rules of English orthography do not apply inmany cases. Spache cites a study by Theodore Clymeras support for his statement.

' Clymer first studied commonly used.basal readei.s angworkbooks to deter- . mine what phonetic generalizations or rules theyteach. He ;round over 121 different phonetic generalizations.. He narrowed down theserules.to those that he considered the most reatonable and Useful. Next Clgner compared these rules with word lists from the texts. He suggests that thephonetic rule should apply in 75% of the C'aSes if it is to.be.considered a sound

generalization. Of thirty-seven phonetic rujes, only nine were foundto

be "sufficiently valid andwidely applicable."2

John Widstpe also criticizedtheunphonetic nature of English:

"English spelling must be memori3N rather than'carned from thesounds of t'he words. Therefore, bad spelling isa very kmon fault among 2

English-sPeaking people.'"3

Indeedwthe're are a variety\of ellings for the sounds ih English

as reference to a dictionary k will show. For examplythe American

College Dictionary lists 44 sounds' ofthe English 1Vguage (see Appendix

A). Only one sound the th soundas in thin has one spelling. '.However,

the letter combination of t I1d h has two possible sounds:th as in

thin and th as in then. A iew of the sounds have only two possible

spellings such as the a sound. If can be spelled withan a as in hat or $

an ai as in plaid. However, the spelling ai also can be used to makethe.

a sound as in rain and the a sound as in chair.Most Of the sounds in the

English language have multiple spellings. According to American, -tne most

possible spellings per sound.is 14. The sh sound has 14 possible spelling.

combinations. In addition, sii English sounds--eas in ebb, -6 as in see,

k as. in kill, o as in oh,u as in use, and a as in alone--have eleven

Yr possible spellings. As one considers this list with its multiple spellin6

'combinations, one appreciates.the complaintsof students about English

orthography. Written English is clearly not dominantly phonetic.-

These irregularities alsocause havoc for students learning to read

English. When confronted with the letters ai, shouldthe student read 5-,

or T? Or when'confronted with the homophonehear should the reader'

think of his ears or.his location? In the profession of teaching reading

there is a lot of controversyover the role of English phonetics in learn-

ing to read.

A 1982 issue of U. S. News and WorldReport illustrates this debate

with interviews froM Rudolf Fleikh and StanleySharp.

Flesch supports the learning of Englishphonetics as a valuable

approach to reading. In answer to the queition: "Isn't the widespread , 3

a, . 4 difficulty that many people have wfthspellimg proof ttiat Engfish is

not phonetic?"k Flesch replied;

' No. Poor spelling is the result of toomany years ofe' improper reading instructionnot the faultof the language. Let's take the word "independence, for example. A phonics-trained student-will read it offthe page immediately, and.so will a 106k-and-say-trainedstudent--if he has seen it many times. Now, suppose tpey come across the word "interdependence." Phonics-triained students w114 read it , and understand what it-means, but look-and-saystudents--90 ,percent of the time--will read itas "independence." 'They . will never see the "ter," becausefor yeaes and years they have had drummed into their minUs toguests a word by its general shape and appearance. You see, look-and-say doesn't ,teach reading or spelling; it teaches guessing.

He concludes: "It is an unforgetable moment,whena Child first discovers

the key to the secret code of reading."

Sharp'disagrees withFlesch. In answer to the question: "Can't

a phohics-based reading curriculum compensatefor illogical spelling?",

, Sharp answered;

4 ND, and that is a principalreason why phonics reading classes are so tedious for-many children. Basal readers--the textbooks used in. the eafly grades--areobliged to use as many words as possible thatare spelled regularly or phonetically. The result is that most of the readingmatter is horribly boring or inane to many pupils. Some educators are convinced that children resist getting involved inreading because the early texts are so insipid.

He concludes: "Eventually, children should be taught ietter-sound

relationihips thatare reliable, but theydeould also be madeaware from

the beginning that most words don'tconform to the r'Ules of phonics."4

-Attempts at Englich Orthographic Reforms

Mahy'scholars have recognized thesediscrepancies and have attempted

. to reform English orthography. Reformation have ranged from minor modi-

fications in the present'romanic system tOthe use of completely new

characters.

* 7 4 \

Early in the United States, therewere several attempts at reforma- , . ..7 tion. Benjamin Franklin noted the existence ofmore soUnds in the 4, English language than letters in the romplic alphabet,so he des ned

six new symbols.. However, his systemnever won support. Noah Webster

also tried to simplify the existingspellings of EngLish words. y

, OT his spellings are still used; however, the used numberare mini alin ( 5 comparison with the number of simplificatiOnshe suggested.

In the 1800's in England: Isaac PitmanRopularized his phonetic \ shorthand system. Shorthand apprbaches such as'the Johh Willlssystem

had been practiced as earlyas 1602, but Pitman's system won tremendous /

public support.6After his success ith phonetic shorthand,pitman set to

work to phonetically reform Englishspelling spending the rest of his

life and fortune on the project.7His work did have some far reaching

effects, though not on English orthography. The International Phonetic

Association based much of their internationalphonetic alphabet (IPA)

. on Pitman's symbols. Some of his symbols are usedeven today in the IPA.8

Mire recently, variousgroups have attempted reforms but these

attempis have'also failed toseriously affect the English spellingsystem.

In the early 1900's Melville Dewey and AndrewCarnegie promoted the

Simplified Spelling,Board. However, their efforts affeetus little

today except for the occasional spellingnite or tho.9

Meanwhile in England, George Bernard Shawadvocated drastic reforms

for the English siSelling system. Shaw willed his estate to institutions

to promote and invent a new system of English spelling. This funding

led to the development of the InitialTeaching Alphabet (see Appendix B)

which was uses for a period of time inAustralia, South Africa, Canada,

England and a few places in the UnitedStates. The ITA consisted 5

. 1

- of 24 letter's fnoT 'thebasic roma9 alphabet ind 20newmbols for the lettrs with.more than one,sbund?li.ke the thor the.sh. It was used.to teach children to read initially then the childrenwere weaned to the regular alphabet. The ITA appears to havelost some of its r3opu1arity 10 now.

None of these attempts have tucceededin signiicantly reforming English orthography:

aik The Mormon'Attempt

A Man, not directly associated with the teaching ezreadirtbut deeply concerned with the education of his community;also dreamed Of a. reformed phonetic English. In the mid-1800f BrighamYoung,in the ito , lated Mormo'n community in the Greetdalt Lake Basin, prom4teda system \of new characters that 4. were to Correspond to the sPecific,soundsof the

English language; this system-was Calledthe Deseret alphabet..

As the President of the Churchof'Jesus Christ ofq.dtter-day Siints,

called'the Mormon Church, Young led the church membets out ofNauvoo, , Illinois where their prophet, Joseph Smith,' had been buriedafter he had been murdered.' The MOrmonsthad left the jurisdiction\of theUnited States P government to establish their own community in the Great Salt LakeBasin. In the Gceat Basin not only was Young the religieus leader,he was the political leader. Under his leadersh.ip, theDeseret alphabet was compiled.

Characteristics of 'the 'Deseret Alphabet. ie'Deseretalphabet was a system of new characters, nonromanic (see Appendix C). It was:

designed to represent :the ,soundsheard in,the English language [sic], aS extensivelyas is deemed consistent, without enter- ing too minutely into nice distinctions,which the ear does not readily catch,,a6d whose omissioncauses no loss, In this alphabet there was to be no distinction between.vowels,consonahts,

dipthongs.11-.

- Only the letters'CDLOPS_andWof the romanic alphabet.were kept. Of these, three represented new sounds: C represented che, D represtnted

esh, and L represented ethg. Watt toorsome of the other thirty-onechar- , acters. from a front piece in 4bster'sUnabridged Dictionary and designed 12 others himself. The isound was represented byan Egyptian symbol that

had had the Egyptian sound Of-e-.13

The number of characters ip'theDeseret alphabet ranged from 32'to

44 at different times after various revisions (ee AppendixD for a com- parison of various versions). This range explains the diisorepancyamong

1 historians as to the number of characters in thealphabet. For example, Bandroft claims of "the Deseret alphabet [that]the number of letters 14- or rather sounds twasl 32 . . . Historian B. H. Robertsagrees that "the alphabet consisted'of 32 letters."15 Ir:contrast,Remy calls the Deseret a1phabet,4"an alphabet , composed of forty characters,as simple 16 as they are inelegant" (see Appendix E): However, the first publicatron of the Deseret alphabet in the DeSeret News was the 38 characterversion.

This version was alsa thesysem used for the books thatwere printed - using this alphabet. Therefore, the best-supported versiOnseems to be the 38,chargcter alphabet:'

The name Deseret alphabet has interesting connotations. Deseretwas a commonly used term among the Mormon peopleof this time. The word' deseret comes from The Book of MormonEther 2:3. This verle refers to the refugees fleeing the Tower of Babelwho "..... also did carry with them deseret, which by interpretationis a honey bee."/7

The Creators. It is difficult to attribute theDeseret alphabet to

iU r. 4

one creatOr.--stpt least fOur differentcommittees Of two to six member-s

' worked on itseonstructfon and revision.' Againvarious historians attrl-

buted various cOmmiAtee.metiberswith .its inventrbn.

i Remy claimi: 4To giveevery .ritan his due, we ought tosay tbat the

ideaAriginated.with.the postle-W.W. Phelps, gpe of theregents of. 'the Univ'ersity [of Deseret, now the-Universdtrof Utah,,J andthat it was

he who woi'ked out theletters. He probably based his . , conclusion on the fnyhat dn 1850 W. W. Phelps presented what as fe-encalled the . "Mbrmon alphal3et" to a group of Mormon leaders, This was hii version of, a phonetic alphabet. The-group, however, did notapprove Phelp's s -alphabet but resolved to consider 19 orthographic reform. However, .Remy seems to'have./confused.Pheltls as the autqor.of the-Deseretalphabet

instead of ihe "ormonvalphabet. , tr. Most historians credit the Deseret atiohabet to GeorgeD. Watt who was on three of the various committees

on the,Deseret alphabet and who , did one revision himself. .8righam YOung'S secretary T.W.- Ellerbeck ex- , \ plains that the "alphabet was designed printipally by GeageD: Watt, a

,phonetit expert4emploYedby [Brigham Young].420_

Watt.had studied Pitman's shorthand system in Englandwhere he was

the fiest convert to theMormon church. He immigrated to Nauvoo,Illinois, the focal point of theChurch, in about 1840.21 In Nauvoo, he servedas scribe for Joseph Smith and other church leaders. In.-184(he also t'aught the pitman system in shorthand classes of which .BrighamYoung was an avid ?2 pupilt Thus, Watt was probably influential not only in the actualcreation of the alphabet !Alt also in.initiating the idea bykindling in the Mormon community the spark of orthographtc reform that wasturning inEngland. -Watt, like many 'd. the reformist n England, feltthat written English was extremely inferior to spoken'Englisht In his introduction tO-

.Exercises in Phonography (See Appendix y), Wattexplains the advantages

of spoken English'in contrast with thedisadvantagespf written English:

ifiere has hitherto existed amongall nations the.great-: est disparity, in point-of facility and dispatchibetween the usual methods of communicating thought--speakingand writing; the former has always been comparativelyrapid, easy, and delightful; the latter tedious, cumbrous,and wearisome.. It is most strange that we, who excelour pro- genitors so.far inscience,,literature, and commerce, should continue to use the mode of writingwhich they have handed down to us, (with but ver'y slightchanges,in the form of-the letters,) and which, byits complexity, obliges the rp4piesChand to spend atleast six hours in writing what bdn be spoken inone. Wby should we not- attempt to simplify our written charactei-s,and make them correspong3in some degree, to thesimplicity of spoken sounds.'

Though.Watt is speaking of his IP shorthand system here, he communicates the basic assumption tiat underliés hisreformation attempts in the.ples-

. eret alphabet: Watt believed written English neededto be simplified to correspond with spoken souRds.

Besides his work with written languSge, wattwdrked for the Church as 4-'a missionary seryingstwo missions, ,the first inVirginia and the second in'England. On his English miss*, he was not onlyto preach.'

. but also to refine his shorthand skills.24 4 Another man who contributed a great deal to the application of the .

Deseret alphabe,t-was Orson P. Pratt. Pratt served as the chief trans- lator of written English into the Deseret,allabet. v.t

Watt and Pratt probably DLit in the mosttime on the deNelopment of the alphabet, but'Brigham Youngseems to be the major supporter of the alphabet. Repeatedly, he encburaged the public touse it. Even when

Watt and othen committee members supportedother Rethods of reform, Young defended the Deseret alphabet. BrOham'Young was the driving force behind 9

the Deseret alphabet.

The Deseret alphabetcovers a time period froM approximately 1852 to

1877. Monson says that "the Deseretalphabet failed; but-it hada greater thance of success than any movement toward thorough spelling reformin

English singe printing became 16' ',25 . firmly established. , Why did this alpha-

bet have a greater chance for success?What caused its failure? We

afust first consider the motivation'forthe creation of.the.alphabet and the history,of its development for clues to the Mormons'successes andi failures. Perhaps learning from such attempts-as the Daseret alphabet can be an asset to reading teachers today.

s^ References in Chapter 1

.1

1 Gaorge D.'Spache and Evelyn B. Spache, Reading in the Elementary

School, (Bbston: Allyn-and.Bacon,Inc., 1977)p. 373.

2 Spache, pp. 373-380.

3 John A. Widstoe, "What Was the Purpose of the Deseret Alphabet?,"

Improvement,Erai 47:33.

4 "Pro and Oon: Teach Reading Old-Fastiioned Way?,"U.S. News and

Worldjteport,vol. 91 no. 15, (April19, 1982), pp. t9-70. 5 SamueC. Monson, "The Desvet Filphabet,"(M:A.thesis Columbia

University Library, 1947), p.1.

6 Monson, p. 3.

7 Kenneth Beesley, "The Deseret Alphabet: Can Orthographical Reform

for English Succeed," (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, 1975), p. 1. 8 Mbnson, p. 7.

9 Samuel C. Monson, Interview at Brigham Young University,Dec. 7, 1982. 10 /J hn A. Downinlj,,"Initial Teaching Alphabet," 'Encyclopediaof

Education, vol. 5, pp. 89-94.

11, The Deseret Alphabet," Document from Brigham Young University

: Speciaj Collections.

12 Leslie L. Sudweeks, "The Deseret Alphabet: The Story of an.Ingenious

Attempt to Pe6rm the Written Language of the West," The ImprovementEra,

vol. 57, p. 805.

13 William Powell, "Utah Territory," March 1968,p. 2. 14 Hubert Howe Bancraft, History of Utah,,vol. XXVI (SanFrancisco:

The History.Company Publishers, 1889), p. 712. 6

H. Roberts as quoted by Kate B.carter, Heart Throbs of the

West, (Salt Lake City: Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 190),p. 226. .

16' . Jules Remy and Julitis Brenchley, AJourney to_Great-Salt Lake City,

.vol. II (London:'W. Jeffs, 1861), p. 184.

175:S. Ivins, "The Deseret Alphabet," Utah Humanities Review, vol. 1, '

No. 34 (July, f947), p. 223.

18 Remy, p. 185.

19 Beesley, p. 3. 20 T. W. Ellerbeck in a letter to F.D. Richards dated Feb. 23, 1855,

as quoted by Carter, p. 26. 21' Carter, p. 267. .- 22 WilliaM V. 'Nash "The Deseret Alphabet," (Urbana, Uni- \ versity of Ill.inois Library Sehool,1957), p. 8. 23 George D. Watt, Exetcises in Phonography,*(GreatSalt Lake City:

W. Richards, 1851), p. 1.

24Sudweeks,p. 805. 25 Monson, p. 57. * . Chapter 2

The Motives Behind the Creatfon

of tr,le Deseret Alphabet

What motivated the construction of the beseret alphabet? Different historians give different reasons for the creation of theDeseret alpha- bet. It would be hard to point to one reason for itscreation. Probably, as in most real life cause-effect situations, there were nuMerouscauses

for its creation.

A Secrei Code 0

..., Some criti.cs of the Mormons claim that the Deseret alphabetwas a co e to hide the secrets of the Mormon church.. Recently the authorre- . . ce1ed a flyer which had Deseret characters on thecover. The flyer ex- i plainedthat:t i he purpose of a "Mormon language" was to keep the secrets

. of Mormon lite ature from th'eworld -(see Appendix G).

-. Jules R my, a visitor,to Salt Lake:City in 1855 whowas himself

, somewhat critical of Mormons, disclaims the idea ofa ,secret code saying: Somepersohs have supposed that the object of thisalphabet was to Rrevent access to the Mormonbooks and writings; but it is- more probable that theonly thing ihtendedwas to simplify the reading of the English longuageby establishing a deter- minate and uniform relation 4etween the sign and itssounds; in fact a phonetic alphabet.'

There are some other facts that disprove the claim of the Deseretalpha- bet as a secret ecclesiastic code. Cards were printed whi.ch hadthe

* . e creators of the Deseret alphabet did not intendthe alphabet to .---k . be a ne laoguage, but a simplification of Englishorthography.

s'/ 12 13

Deseret alphabet with itsequivalent sounds. These cards were sobd.tothe public for 10O 0- per card, 25¢ for three, and 75¢ icira dozen.' If the secret code claim were true, it seems unlikely Mormonofficials would

make decoding devicesreadily available. a

A ProtectiOn fromUnwholesome Literature

Some considered the Deseret alphabet notas a /rethod for keeping Mormon writings fromthe world, but vice-verta--asa wa-y of keeping the , writing of the world from the Mormons. T. W.-Ellerbeck explained that the Deseret alphabet was zdopted ". . . to hinder or prevent [the Mormon

youth) access to the yellow-colored literature ofour age, or any Lib- wholesome reading.u3 OA August 13, 1868,an editorial writer in the Deseret News echoed similar attitudes. He seems to conclude itwould be !Setter not to be able to read "the miserabletrash that now obtaihs , ex- tensive circulatión."

The greatest evils' 'Whic11now flourish, and under which Christendom groans, are directlytraceable to the licen- tiousness of the press. It sends forth a prurientand dangerous literature,-whichcorrupts and, distorts the minds and judgments ofmen. It is our aim to check,its demoralizing tendencies, andiq no way can we better do this, than by Making theknowledge of the Deseret alRha- bet general and by trainingthe children in its use.'

There may have been anothermotive for church leaders wanting-to , isolate themselves from the world. In previous areas inwhich the Mormons had settled, some residents of the areas had mistrtedthe Mormons. Some of th Mormon leaders viewed the U.. government suspiciously,since it had not protected them from the mobbings in the pre-Utahperiod. In fact, some felt the government had been one source of thsirproblems.

Thesesfears were rekindled in 1852in the, Great Basin. The U.S.

Congress had,refused to recognizethe State of Deseret because of the _ 14

S.

Mormon practice of plural marriage.even thoughthe area had mote than the

required populdtion needed for statehood.. Instead,"the Congress created

tle Territory of Utah,and threatenedto replace Brigham Young as governor.

Some histOrians explain that the'Mormonleaders may have wanted to keep

the church and political documents ina foreign alphabef to guard'against

. intruders from Weshington.6

The,Right Place at the Right Time

The birth of the Deseret alphabetmay have been the product of

bringing together the.right time'period % and the right place. The'1,800's

were a time of great interest in orthographic reform:In 1837, Issac T \ 'Pitman produced a r)opular, shorthandsystem and was hailed as the Father

of 19th Century Orthographical .Reform.7Widstoe*xplains that "Pitman's

phohOgraphy toucpq the popular imagination" and that the idea Of phono-. , graphic reform spread quiCkly.8 In 1840, Benn Pitman, a brother to.Isaac,

opeded a sotthand school.in theeastern United States.' Meanwhile,.

Andrew Graham had developed hisphonetic alphabet. During the ehtiie .

19th Century there wasa great interest in orthographic reform both'in.

the U.S. and England.

The isoiated Mormon community in the Great Salt LakeBasin seemed to be the ideal place for a reformation of English spelling. Brigham

Young comments, on Utah's isolation in his governor'smessage on December

11, 1854:

Utah! Fair Utah!! Behold her in the midstof snow,- capped mountains,'narrow vales,vv'extendedplains;-- no navigable river penetrqte$ her surface,nor proceeds from her mountain fastnesses;on which to bear to her' the commerce of the nations. The iron horse has not yet, found his wa? along hernarrow vales', nor yet have the -lightning wires conveyed to hercitizen's the 'latest news.'

S. 15 it

Silent grandeur shereposes, content in her,internal resources, unacquainted with the hurving excitement of the day, or the passing wonder of thefleeting moment. For weeks, aye, months, the ox trains drag theirheavy weights, along with whatever mail matter mighthave been entrusted, in a day long since past, andforgot-Wn. - Perhaps there are no people, in thisage of raiSid communi- cation, so isolated,As ourselves. In our internal inter- course, we have frequent exchanges with each other,but outside of this narrow compass, from two toseven months frequently intervene withoutg word from any source beyond ) the rimit of the Great Basin.

In Utah, there were severalreasons why an orthographic reform

could succeed: t) the people were a well-educated people; b)they were

isolated from large numbers of people who read only standar'dwritten

English; c) they were unified olderone central leader.

Monson comments.on the,role of education in Utah:

Literacy yat an ideal more nearly attakned [in Utah] thp in the United Statesas a whole. In 1860 one out of twelve persons in the United Statesover the age of -twenty wasilliterate; in Utah notmore than one out-of thirty was.*One out of seven in the United'States'was in school, compared to one out of five.in.Utah. The first school in Utah was started in October 1847,just three months after,the.settlement ofSalt Lake Valley. Iri; 1850 the Uni,vetsity of tht State of Deseret Wasin- cOrporated by the General Assembly-ofthe State of Deseret (whipflater became 'the Territory ofltah),,anda Boarq of Regents appointed,.which sOpPrviseq tL actiVities of the public sch4ols of'the state."'

When the Des eret alphabet was in the planffir6stages the railroad

'and telegraph were not yet in Utah. The'Mormons seemed to bea community separate from the world. And they'recognized their unique position.

. ) *Utah is still the statewith the lowestpercentage of adult-illiter- acy according to Carman Hunter and David Harman in Adult Illiteracyin . the United States(1979), pp. 38-39. 16-

a Me Deseret Evening News of December20, 1867 reports a plan ofCongress

to phonetically'simplify English spelling. The editors explain that

since large Qumbers of people resistdramatic diange the reform would

never succeed. However, in isolated Utah, the people"w uld eagerly

adopt any alphabet that hadauthoritative sanctiOn."11

Besides contrasting Utah's isolatedpopulace with the rest of the

nation, this article points to theunity of the people behind their '

leaders., On August 13, 1868,an article in the News again emphasizes

their unique characteristics: "Bpt our position is unique. We are

united. This system [the new alphabet] Canbe made universal with 'but 1 little trouble."1Z

If a reformatiOn of the En6lish spellingsystem were to succeed, -

the isolated Mormon community seemedto be the ideal place. The Mormons.

were unified politically and religiously underthe leadership of Brigham

Young.*. Also, they, were relativelywell:edycated. So the 1800's Seemed

to be the time for orthographrc rformand the Great Salt Lake B'aseit

seemed to be an ideal place for such a 'reform if it were at allpossible.

, A Phonetic English OrthograPhy

, The 19th century orthographic reformistsought to simplify the learn-

ing of reading and writing inEnglish. Mormon leadersals<-\o hadp-taine

*Alistadr Cooke, in Alistair Cooke's America "Comesticating Wilder-40

ness," says Young had dictator-likeauthority over the faithful Mormons.

However, many Mormons would explainthe influence of theq leaders'like

Brigham Young ty pointing out-that the president of their chUrchiscon- sidered a prophet. Therefore, church members respecttheir prophet's advice. 2 i 17

motivation: "It is not expected that this alphabet is perfect, but itis a decided improvement, and its use will greatly simplifyour ortho-

graphy. . . . It will'aiso tend much to trairt the ear in thenice(dis- crimination of sounds preParatory to bringing about amore uniform 13 pronunciation.

George Albert Smith, a Mormon leader, spoke in GeneralConference

voicing the problems. of Englishorthography that he saw:

According to the presentsystem, ft is a verylong and difficult job for a man tolearn to spell. I Commenced as soon as r was old enough to putthree letters together, andI have been at itever since, and I Wardly dare wrrte. letternow without 6onsulting'thedictionar% to.see how some word or.other should be spelled. The.spelling of the English language isvery arbitrary. For several generations it has been undergoing improvements and modifications and. sit will, no doubt, go oh until English Orthography willbe- come so perfect"that every letter willhave but a sihgle /3 sound, instead of having,as now, in some cases, fouror five sounds to thesame letter. Now, when a child learns . to spell; he learns first to giveto the vowel a its long sound, as heard in the word male, suppasing-that to beits only sound. In another position he givesit the.ltalian or grave sound--as in the word father,and so on, until he finds it has four or five distinct sounds, and thenhe has to depend upon the judgmentof some Otherman, to

know which of these soun4to use. . . : I wish our bfethren to givethis subject their seriouS and candidconsideratioh, and do,their bestto introduce into our scpoolsa system that will greatly abridge the time reqWedto gain the various branches. -of a gdod education.''

Th4 the church leadership felt thepresent English orthographywas

inferion and wanted a phonetic spellingsystem such as the Deseret alpha- 4, . 'bet to replace it. There were several , .reasons why they.felt they needed a phonetic $ystem: a) to facilitate the.quickerlearning of written

English by foreigners and by Englishspeaking children, and b) to make

the.writing of English easierand faster.

Since Mbrmop missionarieswere proselyting in Europe during this

time, many non-English speakingconverts to Mormonism were coming to 18

the_Salt Lake Valley. In 1860, Of a totalpopulationof'40,244 in Utah,

12,754 were from foreign countries. True many were from England,but a

. notabre portion were f,rom Denmark, France, Germany, Holland,Italy,

Mexico, Norway', Portugal, Poland,Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.15

Language barriers were causing many problems in the Great Basin. The

Deseret News commentson this problem:

Now the people are gathering, andthe varied and most general influx of the diverse tribes,nations, kindreds, and tongues, is even atour doors. Provision mus be speedily made for this forthcoming 'crisisand event: Can we suppose that a few interpreters willanswer the demands of a constant inter-communiication between severalthousand lan- guages. Maywe not, Old mustwe not, look for' a standard to be lifted up? Should not that language be suchas can be ac- 'quired by the most ordinary minds,within a few days or months at the outside? Now is it possible to simplifyand reduce the English language, or inany way remould it so as to make it answer the emergencS4that await-the saints of this generation? Tell us ye wise men."'

A story is told of Brigham Younglistening to his daughter teaching

\ a.Scandinavian girl to read. The Scandinavian convert pronouncedthrow

with the ow sound as I)/cow. When the Englosh speaking girl explained

the word had a long o.soundas in go, her foreign-speaking friend asked

why the word Oas not spelled thro. Allegedly, thi.s experience motivated

Brigham Young to try to simplify Englishspelling to facilitate the learn-

ing of English.

Many Mormon leaders hoped and believedthe Deseret alphabetA4ould

solve the prOblems of learning English. Favorabre results were reported

of a tour by Superintendentof schoolsRobert Campbell and Edward Stevenson

to teach the Deseret alphabet in thepredominantly Scandinavian settlements

in central Utah. Accordingly,- "the presentsystem oforthography" was k

'the s,Ubject of many a laughable joke," but the "Scandinavians haired

the new system [the Deseret alphabet] withrwoh pleasure."17 19

..._....- ).

i' Brigham Young also voiced hisbeliethat the new alphabet would \: simplify the learning'of English:

.

. The advantages of thie-alphabetwill soon be realized,, especially by foreigners. 'Brethrenwho come fiere knowing nothing,of the English languagewill find its acqutsition greatly fadilitated by'means ofthis alphabet; by which all the soUnds of the'languagecan be represented and ex-1 pressed with the greatestease. As this is the grand , difficulty foreigners experiencein learning the Emglish language, they will finda knowledge of this alphabet will greatly facilitate theirefforts in acquiring at least a partial English-education. It will also.be very advantageout tooun children. It will' be themeans of. , introducing uniformity.inour orthography, and e years that are now 1-equired to Igarnto read and spellcan be

devoted to other studies.'u .

/, Notice that Youhg says the new alphabet would not only helpforeigners but .asci English-speaking , childrdn.-One of the.purposes of theDeseret

alphabpt was to make it easierfor school children to learn to read and , write English. Superintendent Campbell not onlyfelt the nqw system would be an asset to the children, he felt the old systemwas-a detri- 4 ment. He said that the traditionalsystem of English orthography

"does greater violence to the moral perceptions of thechild than is, commonly imagined. The Persians said, the firstthipg fa teach a child

is to speak the truth; the firstthing we teach children seems to be not . . ... ,. unlike a mass of literal falsehbods. ;n19 . arly,definitions of the

_ Deseret alphabet also explain thatit would allowevn the youngest.school 20 children to quickly and'easily Learnwritten English.

.

%. . Another reason for wantinga simplified orthographywas to make writing in English faster and easier. There were Many stenographicre- - porters in the church like J. V. Long and G. D. WatJt. In,their steno-

graphic efforts, the discrepancy betweenthe sPoken and written language e. caused problems:21 The Deseret News explainsthat se.of thenew characters ...

...

1 , 20 /..

in'writing would alleviate such prOblems:

These characters are muchmore simple in their structure than the usual alphaOgical characters; every superflousmark supposable, is wholly'excluded from them. The written and printed hand are substantiallymerged in one:\ . . . There will be a great savingof time and paper by the_ use of the new characters; and buta very small part of the time and expense will be requisite in 'obtaininga knowledge of the language. The orthography will be so abridged that an ordinarywriter can probably write one hundred wordsa minute withease, and tonsequently report the Speechof a common speaker without much_difficulty. . .". In the new alphabetevery letter has a fixed and unalter- able sound; and every word is spelt with reference togiven sounds. By this means strangerscan not only acquire a knowledge ofour language much more readily,but a practised reporter can also report a strange tongue so that thestrange language when spiOen can be legible [sic] by oneconversant with the tongUe."-

Thus, the new phonetic / system was intended to facilitatereporting in any language.not merely English. It seems to have beenintended as a cure-all 'for the proNem of discrepancy between the spoken'and written language. Perhaps such high expectationsexpressed early in its history

led to great disappointmentslater on.

Preparation for a Pure Language

Another reason for the creation of the Deseretbalphabetmay have been the Mormon belief in a pure language, called the Adamiclanguage or

language of Adam,that was to be restored. MOrmon scripture,Moses 6:6, explains that Adam's Sons and daughters taught theirchj,ldren "to read and write, having a language which was pure andundefiled." Brigham Young often commented on his desire for a time whenthe pure language of Adam would be restored to the earth. In one speech Orson Prattalso commented on the imperfections . of English, then he said: "Will there be a pure language restored? There will; through thetestimony of the prophets.1123 0 21

Liter in .1855, George Watt inan address to the seret TypographicAL 14k Association called the Deseret alphabet"a foreru ner in that series of develoPmegts in Philologywhich shall prepare Onkind forthe reception of a pure 1anguage."2 However, no one associated with thecreation of the alphabet claimed revelationfor the specific charactersor their application. Noltheles.s,,the desire for and knowledge.abouta pure

1-anguage may have prompted this'atteMptat reforming :English.

, .

\ 22

References in ,Cnaptei.2

1 Remy, p. 184.

2 Ivins, p. 230.

3 Deseret News, August 13, 1868, as qmotedby Nash, p. 4. 4 Deseref News,August-13, 1868, as quoted by- Monsh,p. 23. s Monson Interview. 6 .Nash, P-4%

7 Beesley, p. 1. 8 Widstoe, p. 33.

9 Deseret News, Dec. 15, " 1853, as quotedby Monson,p. 52. 10pb nson, p. 6.

11 Deseret Evening News,Dec. 20, 18,67, as quoted by Monson,p. 21. 12 Deseret News, August 13, 1868, as'qupted by Monson,p. 22. 13, The Deseret Alpf)abet"document. 14 Journal of Discourses,vol. 12, p. 140. 15 Monson, p. 7.

16 DeseretNezws, November 24, 1853, as quotedby Monson,p. 7. 17 Deseret News, December10, 1868, as quoted by Monson,p. 23. 18 Journal of Discourses,vol. t2, p. 298. 19-- "Report of Territorial Superintendent of Schools," dated Feb:16, 1869, Journals of the Legislature,1869, p. 179, as quoted by Monson,p. 23., 20, The Deseret Alphabet 21 Widstde, p. 33. 22 Deseret News, Jan. 19,1854, as quoted by Mbnson,pp. 11-12. 23 Journal of Discourses,vol. 3, p. 110. 244 Deseret News, August15, 1855, as quoted by Ivins,p. 228.

2 6 .' ChaPter 3

. The History of:the Deter§tAlphabet

The Roots, pre-1850

'It is difficult to say exattly when the Deteret 'alphabet'shistory begins. Did, it begin*in 1845 whenWatt taught shorthand classesthat Young attended? Perhaps it was during thistimethat the idea was'born.

Did 'it begin with, the discussions at Winter Quarters by MormonLeaders .concerning use of Pitman2s 1847 alphabet? Did it begin in 1850 whenthe Board of Regents of the University of Desert begandiscussing orthograph- . ic reform? The roots of the DeseretalRhabt may even go back to 1837 when Isaac Pitman's shorthand system stimulated interest inorthographic reform.

1837 -Isaac PiiMan prodqqs the firstwidely-practiced and widely-studied shorthand system.' '

1840 -Ben Pitman, Isaac's brother,opens a shorthand school 0 U.S. Andrew.Graham has developeda phonetic alphabet in U.S.

1845 -George D. Watt, moves to the U.S.and begins work as scribefor Joseph Smith and other-church leadersaHe teaches classesin shorthand,that Brigham Youngattends.'''

1847 -At Winier Quarters, Brigham Young and other church leadersconsider introducing Pitman's phoneticprinting. Watt, who was on a mission in England, is asked by Brigham Youngto get a set ofaPitman phonotype. Thfs is referred toas the 1847 alphabet.'"

-July. The Mormons reach Salt LakeBasin.

1850 -There is prosperitg in Utah:. farms, ranches, cities, tradewith Californian 49ers.' , ,

, 1 2h1rch 20. The,newly organized Board fRegents'of the University of Deseret meets for the secondtime in Parley P..Pratt's log .;.441-b4nt The secretpy recordsa discussion of the idea that the "conection [sic] of the English Language . . . and 23 24

pronUnciation should be same. . . . His Excellency [Brigham Young] gave his views.upon the subject andplaced it upon the Regency to do and act by the spiritof wisdom4:The Regents focused on orthographic reform from 1850-1877.' Ao

-One week later W. W. Phelps Rresents his "Mormonnalphabetto the Board which is not approved.-'

The pre-1850 period in the history of the Deseretalphabet is the period when.the roots were established for its developmentlater on.

The Developmental Period,1852-1857

In,1852 Bligham Young announced to the Mprmon people atGeneral

Conference that the Board ofRegents was workingon a reformed English orthography. From that year, the work on the Deseret alphabetwas done by committees appointed)by the Board of Regents underthe direction of Brigham Young. The work seemed to be goingviell until itwas interrupted in 1857 by the,Utah War.

1852 -Watt again.opens a shorthand class which BrighamYoung attends.10 -The U.S. CongressAefuses to recognize the State ofDeceret be- cause of polygamy"and installsthe Territory of Utahk

13 14 -April 8. Young introduces.frreformationof English spelling in General Conference:.

I have asked the Board of.Regents-to cast out fromtheir system of educa,tion, the present orthography andwritten form of our ladYuage, thatwhen my children'are taught the graphic sign for A,it may always representthat individual sound_only. But as it now is, the plildis perplexed that the sign Ashould have one sound inmate, a second sound in father, a third sound in fall,a fourth sound in man, anda fifth sound in many, and in other combinations, soundingsdifferent these, while, in others, A is not soundedat all. I say let it have one sound an the time. And when P is introducedinto a word, let it not-be stlentas in phthisic,'or sound like F in physic,ffld let tk not be placed instead ofone as in apple. 25

1853 oci.1627.17 The Board of Regents appointsa committee of Parley P. Pratt, Heber C. Kimball, qi9dSeorge D. Watt, toprepare school books in qareformed English." (Watt is called home from his mission.)" ,

-Nbv. 24. The Deseret NeWs reports theprogress of the Deseret alphabet and explains the debateamong committee members as to the form for the new system--manic 18 versus a new set of characters. The News reports:

. . a query has arisen and occasioned somewarm debate whether the present old Roman alphabetis sufficiently perfect to carry forward this reformation. It is ob- jected by some that the characters ofthe old alphabet are like the white man (as the Indian says)too un- certain. That is, their soundsare too variable: too many letters enter into the composition of singlewords, and some of these letters are silent and unmeaning. . . . Will ip old bottlesanswer for the,deposit of the new wine?

-Dec. 12. Young speaks to Utah legislature in hisgovernor';(1 message and encourages the reformation of Englishspelling."'

- Dec. 22. A 38 character version ofa phonetic alphabet is pre- sented,to the Boa591, of Regents whichis adopted and called the Deseret alphabet."'

-Dec. 26. Parley P. Pratt announces that "theRegency are getting out a new alphabetyqn2whenwe learn our letters ourselves, we will teach others. `1 3 1854 -Jan. 19. The Deseret News announces thenew 38 character alphabet:

The Board of Regents, incompany with the Governor and heads of departments, have adopteda new alphabet, con- sisting of 38 characters. . . which are more simple in their structure thanthe usual alphabeticalcharacters; every,pperfluous mark supposable is whoiyexcluded from them.'

- ft-ch. The new alphabet is printed ina presentation to the Board of Regents. Regent Hosea Stout demonstrates it-tothe Deseret25 Theological Institute and the Deseret Typographical Association ' (see Appendix D).

-April. Geoege Watt and Albert Carrington,the Deseret N@ws editors, are lecturing on the advantages of the Deseret alphabet."'

-Aug. Watt proposes his complete revision of 33characters as a replacement. His BEoposal is not accepted butit later influences the final version."' 26

1854 -Dec. In his annual governor'smessage to the legislature, Brighq Young recommends that the Deseretalphabet be taught in schools.J

1855 -Feb. Lorenzo Snow suggests thatthe DeseW alphabet be taught to members of the PolysophicalInstitute.'"

-Feb. 20. John T. Morris dies. His tombstone is inscribed in the Deseret alphabet.

-Feb. 24. T. W. Ellerbeck, Young's secretary,writes an explanation ,of the alphabet to Franklin D.Richards. In the letter, he ex- plains that Watt is the chiefcreator and that.besides simplifying English orthoguphy the alphabetwill protect Mormon youth from corrupt print:J.'

-Aug. The News reports progresson the Deseret alphabet and pro- motes its'use.

-Aug. 2. Watt, representing the committeeon the Deseret alphabet, presepts three resolutions to theDeseret Typographical Association. They were a) the new alphabet shouldbe used to prepare men for the pure or Adamic language; b)the Association should strive to make the peseret alphabet useduniversally; c) Watt should in- struct the members in the Deseret alphabet. 3b36 The resolutions were unanimbusly accepted. '

-Aug. 15. The Deseret News reports that BrotherSabins is pre- paring the material needed fOr,the typq,castingof the Deseret alphabet. Nothing came from his work.'"

-Sept: 25. Rem); and Brenchly,disguised 'em-prospecters, visit Salt Lake City.

-Dec. The Regents and the Territorial'governmentaggropriate $2,500 for fonts, printing, etc. of theDeseret alphabet.'"

1856 -Jan. Remy prints copies of the Deseretalphabet in San Francisco. Some say this is the firsInginting of the Deseret alphabet. It i5 a 40 character version."'." (seeAppendix E).

-Feb. 4. Wilford Woodruff, Samuel W. Richardsand George Wq; 4se44 appointed to "get up" school booksin the Deseret alphabet. 45 -Feb. 6. The Deseret News reports thata separate-committee for spelling revisiOn has been formed,ante are Daniel H. Wells, Albert CarringtonA,and WilliamWillis. (Ivins says this date was February M.."

1857 -Erastus Sggw goes to Saint Louisto get type fonts for the Deseret alphabet."'w

-Aug. 29. The font for nie Deseret alphabetusing pica type is started in Saint Louis.'" 27

Ar 50 1857 -Fall. The Deseret alphabet type is delivered toSalt Lake.

-The Utah War interrupts ,arkon the school books. President James Buchanan sends General Albert Johnston toaccompany Alfred Cummings to Utah to replace Brigham Youngas Governor. There i§ no actual fighting though most of the ablgTbodiedmen in Utah unite under the command of Daniel H. Wells. (See Bancraft's History of Utah, pp. 512-543.)

-The textbook manuscripts are moved southtR1Fillmore Utah for safety i anticipation of Johnston's Army.''

44 13. Parley P. .Pratt, one of the original committeeoember, is murdered by Hector J. H. McLeannear Van Burden, Ak. "

From 1852 to 1857, Watt's 38 characterversion for the Deseret alphabet was approved.by the Board ofRegents. ,Also, a committee began to put together manuscripts for school booksin the Deseret alphabet.

The manuscripts included such topicsas "the pioneers, the Mormon Batt-a- lion, Salt Lake Valley and Utah Territory,grisley [sic] bears, and buffalo bull fights."53 Also during this developmental period typefont for the Deseret alphabet was shipped from SaintLouis to Salt 'Lake.

Thd ground workhad been lain for the actual printing to bedone. fhe

Deseret alphabet had been created, but whether itwould rise or fall re- mainedgto be seen.

Rises arid Falls, 1858-1877

The end of the Utah' Wai" in 1858 could haveinspired both optimism and pessimism in those interested in promoting.theDeseret alphabet. Since the war was over, work could begin again. However, the textbook manuscripts . had-been lost, so work onnew textbooks had to start again. During this time period, Orson Pratt was assigned.responsibilityfor the school books and translating otiler texts into the Deseretalphabet. However, the p4blishing of books did not insure the Deseretalphabet's support and

3 28'

enthusiasm. IAttdbany per'iodswhen it nearly died.

1858 -The Utah War has been resolved.

-Nov. 20. At 4p.m. Brigham Young tells WilfredWoodruff to work with Watt and makemore manuscripts for Wtbooks to replate those taken to Fillmore whichwere lost."-r 55 -Nov. 27. The Deseret alphabet printedwith the type from St. Louis is first used on cardsfor Brigh Young's office 4ich are presented to the Church Historian,"George A. Smi;19." (Powell says these cardswere Smith's personal cards).'"

1859 -Jan. The Quorum of the Twelve estimatesthat the Deseret alphabet reform will Cost approximatelya million dollars and decides to settle with a reformed spellingsystem using the roman alphabet for economic reasons. gthin a week, Brigham Youngrevives the Deseret alphabet again."

- Feb. 16. 'The Deseret NeWs prints the "Sermonon the Mount" in the-Deseret alphabet--the 38 charapr version (see AppendixP). This'is considered the firsttext. From this date until May of 1860 the News carllAsexcerpts of the scriptures using the Deseret alphabet."'

- Feb. 16. One perer comments that the alphabet lookslike a Turkish tax list.

- Feb. 16. Many are'disappointed in the typeset used in the Deseret News article; they feel itsappearance rough. John Rummell ETTers to prepare a new type set without pay if his workis not acceptable. Young denies the offer by sayingthat after the a, characters are reviseda new type set will be done in England."

- Feb. 23. Cardsoith the "latest" versionof the Deseret alphabet go.up for sale. 'J These cards are to be soldfor 100 ea.ch, 250 for three, and 750 for twelve. (Ivins sa3/4the DeseretNews ad- vertised the cards in thesummer of 1856.)"

- Orson Pratt, now tleChancellor of the Universityof Deseret, and: George Watt begino translation of Webster's Dictionaryinto the Deseret alphabet.

- Mfarch 21. Pratt gives notice that he willno longer work on the translation. He explains that because ofhis dislike for writing, the strain on his eyes, and the hardship bis family issuffering as a result of his work that "all the gold in California couldnot 'hire him to engage in copyingand arranging Webster's Unabridged into the Deseret alphabet as a'speller and pronounceror for a dictionary." Campbell'seconds Pratt's refusalcalling the job 29

1859 "a Herculean task for Wchwe are unprepared.,"66

- Ape91. As Young hadsuggested, clerksare hired to do the work of translatilg'the dictionaryunder the direction of Prattand Watt. A committee of Daniel H. Wells,Levi W. Richard and Robert Campbell hire the clgi5swho only work a short while before Young dismisses thee's'

- May. An editorial in the'Deseret Newsby A. B. assures the audience that in a few years prejudices ;gward the alphabet.will beovercome and its use will be widespread."

-Superintendent of schools Robert .Campbellvoices his support of the reform: "The Superintendent takes greatpleasure in seconding the efforts of President BrighamYoung and the Board of Regents of , the Univer4ty of Deseret in theinthduction of the Deseret alphabet. ' , 1860 -The Deseret alphabet has appeared-Zmhandbills, shop signs, journals, alters, coi9A, a tombstone, etc..,butoyerall general public support is lacking.'

-A Utah coin is designed usingthe Deseret alphabet. This-cOn only circulates one year then Governor,Cummingsforbids its use,."

1862 -Young rejects Campbell's school booksin the romanic alphabet.72 .

1864 -A few items using the Deser9; alphabet reappear in the DeseretNews from May-Aug. and Nov.-Dec,f'

1866 -Dec.10. The Board of Regentsproposes to7s95Benn Pitman's phohemi'c alphabet instead of the Desereelphabet. ' ' (Ivins, says this meeting was on Det: 118, )867.)

1867 -June. Watt travels to'New York to getthe phonotype of-Benn Pitman's "Standard Phonotype."Here, he observes p9e7grahamsystem and re- commends it to Brigham.Young in a letter." ' 79 ctgdward L. Sloan (who becomes the editor of DailyHerald in 1879") writes a letter whichis published in the News c,gling for all those interested in_a'phonographicsoc;ety to meet.'' This reactivates Deseret alphabetproponents.'

-Oct. At General Conferente, Btigham Youngand George Albert Smith speak again urging use of the Desere alphabet.' .

1868 -Feb. 3. ,Thg,Amegit alphabetwas once again accepted by the Board of*Regents."'"

-MO 15. The Board of Regents petitionsthe legifikgre for $10,000 and assigns Orson Pratt toprepare school books."'" 30

, 1868 -June 22. Heber C. Kimbgl,l, one of the earlysupporters of the Deseret alphabet, dies.ul

-June 25. Prattfand Superintendent Campbellsend the completed manuicripts o4stgg schoolbooks,to David Calder in New York

for printing. '

- Aug. 13. The Deseret Newsannounces the publication of these school books by Russell Brothersfor the University of Deseret. The irst book was 36 pages for 15 9 and the Second 72 pages for 20C see Appendix I).

(Monson says*there were 10,000 copies ofoleach book by lateOct. and that they went on sale inDecember.)''

-Oct. The fg54somingarrival of the bookswere announced in General Conference.""'

- Oct. 30. The Committee votes to printan errata sheet to prrect the numerous errors in the DeseretFirst and Second Books."

- Campbell and S5evensen tour Utah promoting the readers.94,95

-Dec. 9. Brigham Young sends a letterto.Albert Carrington in England telling.him that OrsonPratt wiU come to Englandperhaps in the next year to supervise printing.""

1869 -Jan. 25. The teachers and trustees ofthe Salt Lake City scpols discuss the use the Deseret alphabet and agree touse it.

-Jan. The Juvenile Instructor 96 encourages support of the Deseret alphabet.

- %rch. Orson Pratt tells the Boa4 of his 9y completion of the trans- lation of the Book of Mormon. ' v

- April 20. Pratt leave,s for New York tosupervise the printing of two editions of the Book ofMormon: one-volume for families- and the seabnd edition of three lo11U4 pq6;s to be used for classroom work, ' as advanced readers.' ' lk

- Sept. 1. The Book of Mormon is published. Five hundred copies of the family editionare made.'Eight thousand copies_of the first third of the school icIAtim,i6gprinted. (The Other two parts.were never printed), A -Sept. 28. 107108 Pratt rides the railroad home. '

-Dec. 16. The Deseret News advertises copiesof the Book of Mbrmon in the Deseret alphabet: "Deseret Books of 14ormon--$2.00. For Part First, (containing 116 pgs.)designed for a T4,6d Reader-- 75.cents. Heavy dikount to whole'sale purchases.""" 31

1.870 -Sales of thelyboks are not goodas evidenced 1.53, discolAted prices in the News. 1191 the fall, the Deseret Newsdiscontinues ads for the prtmers.

1872 111 -The Deseret News mentions the alphabetkonlyoccasionally.

-Sometime between 1870-1872, the Boardof Regents asics Pratt to tr4nslate the Bible andthe Doctrine and Ogenants which he did, but these booksare never published."'

-Orson Pratt petitions thelegislature to pay him $6,537.37for his work. He had submitted his billto the University of Deseret two years earlier, but the Universityhad declinedmyment be- .causeofa lack of funds. He received about $6,000.1"

-Mrch 7. W. W. Phelps, 114 one of the early committee Aembers,dies.

1874' -Robert -Campbell, the superinteI0ntof sChools a d avid supporter of the Deseret alphabet, dies."'"

-At a meeting in Salt Lake George Q. Cannon againlyggesthe reading of the Book of Marmon in the Deseret alphabet. - we 1876-The Juvenile Instructoranno nces a new approach to orthographic

preform.117 ,

, -Pratt is sent to Liverpoolto supervise the printilngof the of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants in pitmanPhonotype.

-Election advertisements withthePoople's Party printed in the Deseret alphabet are circUlated.119

120,121 1877 -Brigham Young dies. Pratt is called home.122

1878 -The last printing in the Deseret alphabet appears1;9 bean election, ballot partially printed in theDeseret alphabet.

1893 -The Universtty_of Deseretbecomes, the University of Utah.124

With the death of Brigham Young in 1877, the Deseretalphabet for

all,practical purposes died also. In the 1860s it had begunto wane, but

each time Brigham Young had revitalizedtt. In 1868, the Board of Regents had proposed to use Benn Pitman's alphabet instead ofthe Deseret alphabet. In fact, the Deseretlews'wrote this sort of obituary forthe alphabet: Nnether from ignorance or design, the matrices were wigthla made,and did thkcharacters great injustice. . . . [It had been decidedby the Regents] d- 32

. to adopt the Pitman Phonetic alphabet recommended to thepeople for their

,

adoption. . . ! Pitman charactersare available. This is the reason for t their selection and not because they were thougtit to be thebest ctiaract- 125 ) . .. ers. . . ." However on February 3, 1868,the Regents met with Young

to reconsider use of the Pitmanalphabet. Afterthis reconsideration,

the group "drew forth .a universal # expression in favor of our characters

known as the Deseret alphabet, as being better adopted; anda motion was ,made to take the necessary measures to introduce it inprinted works."126 I Thus, while Young was alivethe alphabet would not die. I However, when Young died in 1877, Orson Pratt was called home from England. Early supporters such as Heber C. Kimball, Parley P. Pratt, W. W. Phelps,and Robert Campbell had already died. No one took Brigham You4'splace as

a promoter and advocate of the Deseretalphabet.

A -4--

I. -

t

- t..

,

p. / 33

Referendes in Chapter 3

1 2 Beesley, p. 1. Nbnson, p. 2. 3 4 Nash, p. 6. Nash, p. 8, 5 6 Nbnson, p. 11. Beesley, pp. 1-2. 7 8 ; Nash, p. 8. Nash, p. 8. 9 Minutes of the Board of Regents of S.he DeseretUniversity,March 20,

1850, as quoted by Beesley,pp. 2-3. u. 10 11mo Nash, p. 8. nson, p. 2.

12 13 Nash, p- 9- Beesley, p. 3.

14Nash,p. 9.

15 Journal of Discourses, April 8,1852, vol. 2, p. 68.

16 17 Nash, p. 10. Monson, p. 8. 0 18 19 Nbnson, p. 89 Beesley, p. 4. 20 Monson, p. 10. 21 Ceseret News; Jn. 12, 1854,4g-quotedby Nash, p. 11. 22 Nbnson, p. 11. 23NashA. 24 -25 Beesley, p. 5. Bees1ey00. 5. 26 27 tbnsob, p. 13.' Pbnson, p. 30. 28 29. Beesley, p. 6. Nash, p. 13.

30 , . 31 Nbnson, p. 12. Nbnson, p. 30. 32 33 Beesley, p. 8. I- 14bnson, p. 30. 34 35 Carter, p. 265. Ivins, p. 228. ot 36 Deseret News, Aug.\15, 1855,as quoted by Monson, p: 13. 37 38 Nbnson, p. 14. Beesley, p. 8. 39 40 Beesley, p. 10. Nbnson, p. 14. 41 Remy, p. 185.

42 Journal of History, .Feb. 4, 1856,as quoted by Beesley, p. 10. 43 Deseret News, Feb. 6, 1856, as quoted by Ivins, p. 229z,

44 45 Mbnson, p. 15. M3nson, p. 15.

46 47 Beesley, p. 11. Ivins, p. 230.

48 49 Nash, p. 15. Widstoe, p. 49.

50 51 Monson, p. 16. Mbnson, p. 16.

52 Andrew Jenson, Church Chronology (Salt Lake City: Deseret News,

1899),'p. 58.

53 Journal History, Feb. 6, 1856, as quoted by Beesley, p. 11.

54 55 Nbnson, p. 16. Powell, p. 5.

56 57 Mbnson, p. 17. Powell, p. 5.

58 59 Nash, p. 16. Monson, p. 17.

61 "Beesley,p. 13. Powell, p. 5.

62 63 Nbnson, p. 18. Mbnson, p. 19.

64 65 Mbnson, p. 19. M3nson, p. 19.

66 67 M3nson, p. 19. Monson, p. 19.

68 69 M3nson, pp. 19-20. Sudweeks, p. 806. 7 At- 0Beesley;p. 14. 1Powell,p. 6.

72 3 Mbnson, p. 20. Mbnson, p. 20.

74 Samue W. Richards to Franklin D. Richards, Millenial Star, (Feb. 2,

1867), 29:77, as quoted by Beesley, p. 16. 75 Mbnson, p. 20. (He also refers to the Millenial Star, 29:77)

76, Deseret News, Dec. 19,1867, as quoted by Ivins, pp. 231-232.

77 78 Beesley, p. 17. M3nson, p. 20. 80 79Ivins,p. 231. Jensen, p. 83.

81 , Nash, p. 17.

82 Deseret News, Feb. 4, 1868, as quoted by Ivins, p. 186.

83 Deseret News, Feb. 3,1868, as quoted by Nash, p. 186,

84 85 Mbnson, p. 21. Ivins, p.'232.

86 Nash, p. 18. 35

87 88 Jensen, p. 78. Bees1eyvv.\88'. 89 90 Monson, p. 2. Nash, pp. 18'71.9. 91 Monson, P. 23. ,' 92Beesley, p.-1e.., 93 94 Powell, p. 9. Monson, p. 23.

95 96 Nash, p. 20. Sudweeks, p.-806. 97 98 Nash, p. 20. Nash, p. 20. 99 100mo Beesley, p. 18. nson, p: 24. 101 102 / 1 Bees1ey, p. 18 Monson, p% 24.

103 9'104 Powell, p. 10. Beesley, p. 19. 105 106 'LI Monson, p. 24. Sdweeks, p. 806. 107 108 Beesley, p. 19. Monson, p. 24. 109 110 Mon,aon, p. 24. Bees1eyie. 19. . 111 112 Nash, p. 21. Monson, Ili 24.

113 114 Vonson, p. 26. Jensen, p. 270. 115 _77 Nash,p. 22. 231. 117 118 Beesley, p. 20. Mon5on, p. 26. 119 120 Monson, p. 26. Monson, p. 26. 121 122 Be ley, p. 21. Beesley, p. 21. 123 124 Monso , p. 26. Nash, p. 23. 125 Ceser t News, Dev. 19, 1867,as quoted by Ivins, p. 232. 126 Deseret News, Feb. 4, 1868, as quoted by Ivins,p. 232. Chapter 4

Practical Application of'

the Deseret Alphabet

Though the Mormon communityas a whole did not use the Deseret

alphabet extensively, a few individuals did use it. These suPporters

were those associated with Brigham Young, For example, the clerks inthe

Church Historian's Office used\it.lii: On this use, Richard Burton,a 4 traveler to Utah, recorded:

"One of my favoriie-places ofvisiting was the Historian and Recorder's Office, opposite Mr. Young's block. It con- tained a small collection of volumes, together withpapers, and-OYiate, plans, designsvid other requisites, many of them in the Deseret alphabet."'"

Also, according to Powell, the first printing done with theDeseret type, was the personal cards of George A. Smith, the ChurchHistorian on November 27, 1858.3

Not only did those associated with Young in a religiouscOntext use the alphabet, those working withGouernor Young used the alphabet. 'In.

1860, a new five dollar gold piece was cast using Deseretsymbols. One side pictured an eagle with wings spread behinda beehive. On the other side was a lion which was to represent Brigham Young, "the li,o9of the Lord." Jhe inscription around the edge was in'Deseretcharacters and read "Holiness,to the Lord"4(see Appendix 4).

Brigham Young oversaw three completed books printed inthe Deseret lphabet and a fourth started. Orson Pratt translated thebooks and super- vised the printing of these books.

The first two books were school primers (see Appendix I). On

36

4-0 37

May 15th, 1868, The Deseret. First Book of 36 pageswas published. later The Second Book.of 72 pages was published.5.0n August 13, 1868, the

Deseret News:announced the sale of these primers, theFirst book for 15¢

and the second for 20¢.6 A note at the end of the , Second book tells us pratt haetorrowed illustrations from Wilson's Readerdescribed as "so justly popular-and so universely used in the tvritory."7' Pratthad meant.the books as more than eercises in the seret alphabet. He had

intended them 'to truly be readers patterned after readers ofthe period. They contained not only interesting examples of the Mumonalphabet, but

also interesting examples ofMormon attitudes and experience. ,

The books.comment on the everyday Mormon experience. For exaMple, two lessonli disouss horsemanship and gun use. "A-,pun is good to keep dff the dogs and bad men at night."8 They.also teach i'iow to diga well, how

to train colts,how to weave hats, and other ) work related activities.

Vey alsoteach scripture and morallessons. Pratt included scriptures

1 from the Bible throughout the books including the entirk"Sermon on the

Mount" in the lastpages of book two. Moral lessons include suchtopics

as honesty, charity, and not usingtobacco. The lessons on playing akso

primarily 'teach moral

rt is leasing to children,to have their seasons of play, and to have their choicesports. This is right, and it is good for children thus to amuse themselves, ata pnoper94ime and place. se children enjoy their frolic, andare glad to : have such times. 'They live inthe country, and were it not for theirplays and games, they would be dull; but , they have all sorts ofsport, and they enjoy it too; 4 for they are healthy, aqd fullof vigor. They breathe the pure air. They rise early in the morning;and have all their tittle tasks tOperform; and whr theseare over they have leave granted themto play, (see Appendix 3).

N,1 38

Science has not been overlookedas a topic for the lessons of these

primers although they only simplisticallypresent science related topics.

For example in Jesson 17 of the Second Book,Pratt includes the poem

uTwinkle, Twinkle Little Star" called "IlleStars" (see Appendix K).

After the poem, the primer reads:

The poetry, printed above, called "TheLittle Star," is often spoken by young boys and girls. rt tells very happily their thoughts about the star. But there are manythings which the youthful do not knowlabout thestars. There are also many-things about the starry heavenswhich are unknown to the aged and the learned. The stars are too numerous to be counted by men: many of them are at a very great distance from the earth wlAch we inhabit. They are also much larger than this globe."

The.lessonsseem to be intended for instruction and practice with

, little concern for the students' ,interest. For example, a sedtion in ii , the early lessons of bookone reads: "I see a fly. May I get the fly?

Yes you may get it, but it will fly off,. It bit.an ox. The ox can run.

Can the fly run? Yes, the fly can run up the high wall."11

The third book printed in the Oeseret'alphabetwas The'Book of Mormon

(see Appendix L).'Two editions of the Book of Mormonwere to be published.

The first, published January 25, 1869,was intended for,familY use. The second was to have three parts andwas intended for use in schOols as advanced readers. Gaorge A. Smith explained this edition: "The manuscript of the Book of Mormon is in theDeseret alphabet and is now ready for publication. It is designed to publishan edition.in ien thousand copies, suitable for the use in'the schools."12However, only the first part of the text for the classroom editionwas printed.

The printing of-these books provedto be an expensive experiment.

Orson Pratt received $6,038.05 for histranslating work.13 The cost of

14 the printing of these bookscome to $12,453.86. Sales of the books

12 39

were intended to' pay back this expense. But, sales weren't sufficient to

repay much of this expense.

Though not printed as was the Book of Mormon, other religious

documents were kept in the Deseret alphabet. For example, James Henry

Martineau kept the Parowan-Stake minutes of 1855 using theDeseret alpha- bet. Martinerau was also an artist and .probably illustratedtherecord15:

(see. Appendix M).

Other handwritten materials like journals and correspondencewere

kept in the Deseret alphabet. Thales Haskell, a missionary to the Hopi

Indians of Northern Arizona, recorded 14pages of his missionary journal

in the Deseret alphabet (see Appendix N). ''He useda less common version

pf 40 characters.16 Marion J. Shelton, a fellow missionary of Haskelrs, also used the Deseret alphabet to correspond with his family. While teach-

ing the Hopi, these missionaries taughta few characters of the Deseret

alphabet to some of the,tribe. On this topic, Shelton writes to George

A. Smith in November of 1859:

"I employ my time in studying the language and instructing' them [the Hopi] in the Deseret alphabet. I find that I, acquire the language very readily, and thokse to whomI have given lessons have taken right hbld to the alphabet and several pfthem know the first six characters, and we can hear them hollowingtne sounds throughout the village. They have some pecularitiea in their tongue thatI never have heard in any other. You will please tell the President [Brigham Young] that Ihave had to introduce another character whichI sincerely hope will7meet with his approval, It is simply, J.,a straight mark.'

By 1860, in addition to handwriting, theDeseret alphabet appeared

in a few usespublically. Remy reports that he saw it onsome shop 18 signs. Andwhen John Morris died onFebruary 20, 1855. in Cedar city, his tombstone'was carved in charactersfrom the Deseret alphabet, "with the exceptionof his Welsh birthplace, Lanfair Talhairn"19(seeNpendi-x0). 40

'References in Chapter 4

1 Ivins, p. 228.

2 Richard F. Burton, The City of theSaints, (New York: Harper

Brothers, 1862), p. 419. ,

<1. Powe p. 5.

4-L eslie Sudweeks, "Des4ret Gold: a Historical Sketch of PioneerMoney."

Improvement Era, vol. 50,(1947),p. 151. 5 Leah R. Frisby and Hector Lee, "TheDeseret Readers," Utah

Humanities Review, vol. 1,(1947),P. 240. 6 Deseret News, August 13, 1868,4s quoted by Nash, p. 18.

7 Frisby, p. 240. 8 Frisby, p. 242.

9Frisby,p.

°Frisby,p. 242.

11 Frisby, p. 241.

12 Frisby p. 240.

13 Frisby, p. 241. *ow"- 14 Nash, p. 22.

15 Bob Bingham to Chad Flake, April 5, 1981,Original at Brigham

Young University, Special Gpllections.

16 ThalesH. Hoskell "Journal," Utah Historical Quarterly,vol..12, no. 1, (Jan. 1944), p. 69.

17 Utah Historical, p. 9

18 Remy, p. 184.

19 r4Dnsok.p. 13. 44t, Chapter 5

Successes and Failures of the DeseretAlphabet

The successes of the Deseretalphabet stem mainly from the support

of the leaders of the Mormoncommunity. Brigham Young v'ras the major

supporter and promoter of the Deseret alphabet. As both governor and

church president, Young was the political and religious leader ofthe

area. Perhaps his suppart influenced otherleaders.. In contrast, the

failures of the Deseret alphabet stem from a lack of support fromthe public.

The Successes

The firstiannouncements andendorsements of the Deseret alphabetcame

over the pulpit. It was in conferenceon April 8th, 1852 that Brigham

Young first announced a reformationof English. Furthermore, when the

Board of Regents of the Deseret University appointed a comnitteeto imple-

ment orthographic reform, George Xralt _ was called home early from his

mission in England tO beon this committee. This unusUal action demon-

strates t amount of Support by church leadersfor the project.

Mi'nytimes the presidency qf the churchadvocated the Deseret alpha-

bet and urged membe'rs to learn anduse it. On April 13, 1854, the Deseret

News printed the "Eleventh. General Epistle of the Presidency ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to the Saints in thevalleys of the mountains and those scattered abroad throughout the earth." In this

announcement, church leaders said:

The Regency have formed a new alphabet, which it is expected . will prove highly beneficial inacquiring the English language to

1 41 42

foreigners as well as to the youth ofour country. We recoMmend it to the favorable consideration ofthe people, and desire that all of our teachers and instructors willintroduce it in their schools and to their classes. The orthography of the English lanpage needs reforming;- a word to the wise is sufficient.'

The Deseret alphabet also hadthe support of state leaders. In

'December of 1854, Young in a governbrIsmessage recommended the Deseret

alphabet be "thoroughly and extensivelytaught in all schools" because

it was "a basis of instructiOn forthe attainment of the tnglish language,

/ far surpressNg in simplicity andease any known in existence."2 Later

in 1867, Robert Campbell, the superintendentof the common schools,

stressed the value of this alphabet inhis annual report to the legisla- 3 ture. And on January 25, 1869 the teachersand trustees of the Salt

Lake City schools held a'meeting in whichthe Deseret alphabet was discussed.

In this meeting, these school leadersagreed to adopt the Deseret alphabet.4

Widstoe claims that many classes taught theDeseret alphabet, but Monson

points out that those classes in whichthe alphabet were taught were mainly

Suhdty School classes.5

Aowever, there arreports of the alphabetbeing taught in schools. ba George Smith reports that "Elder John B.Milner is teaching the Deseret

alphabet with considerablesuccess having 60,scholars at Lehi, 28 at

American Fork, ,25 at,Mbuntainville, 28 atPleasant Grove, 22 at Provo,

first ward, who are making good progress."6'Another report comes from

W. R. May of Nephi. This teacher of eighty students ofallages explains

that one simply needs to "put the First andSecond Readers into the

children's hands and they will learnto read them without teaching."

He says that he teaches the alphabetexterfsiely and urges other teachers

to do the same. He concludes: "Do not throW cold wateriupon the.efforts

/16 43

of our leaders in this respect. . . ."7 May's last commentonce again reflects the influence of the leadership's support ofthe Deseret alpha-

, bet.

Community groUps also supported the Deseret alphabet. On August 2, 1855, Watt representing the "Committee of the DeseretAlphabet" pre- sented to the DeseretTypographical Association three resolutions: a) the alpfbet was to prepare men to receivea pure lariguage; b) the association would strive to make the Deseret alphabetuniversal; and c) Watt.would instruct the members'of theassociation in the Deseret

alphabet. The Typographical Association members unanimously acceptedthe resolutions.8 In,February of 1854, LorenzoSnow advertised his Polysophi- cal Institution which was to-offer evening classes in,among other things, the Deseret alphabet.9

The tommunity publications also endorsed the alphabet. At one point the Deseret News was skeptical saying: "The characters willappear trude and impractical at first sight. We deemed them so whenwe were first shown them." Evidently they changed theirminds: "But it was not long before we saw our error."1° The majority of the timethe Deseret News spoke positively of the alphabet's progress andpurpose. For example,

'when announcing that the Boardof Regents had adopted the 38 character .

alphabet, it reportedas follows:

These characters are much more simple in theirstructure than the usual alphabetical characters. . . . We may derive a hint of the advantage to orthography from spelling theword. "eight" which in the new alphabet requires only twoletters instead of five to spellit, via "AT." There will be great saving,of time and.paper bythe use of the new characters, and but a very small part of the time andexpense will be requisite in obtaining a knowledge of the'language. . . . In the'new. alphabet e-very letterhas a fixed and unalterable sound. By this method strangers cannot only acquirea knowledge of our language muchmore readily but a#practiced 44

reporter can also report 11 a strange language when spoke. . .

The Juvenile Instructor,a major magazine of the church, also 0 published editorial support ofthe alphabet.4'

Failures

The Deseret alphabet had More support than other reformations likeit. However-, despite this'support from the leadership of thecommunity, the DeSeret alphabet did not gain'the support of the majorityof the general public. Failures of the Deseret alphabetcould be categorized into thi;ee types: outside forces, problems inthe alphabet itself, and lack of public support. This last failure was probablythe partial result of the first two difficulties and the main reason the Deseretalphabet reforma- tion did not succeed.

Examples of outside forces hindering the-development ofthe Deseret alphabet can be seen in the Utah War and in the comingof the railroad.

These were factors the leaders of the community could notcontrol. Only ten years after the 1847 alphabet of Winter Quarters,the work

on Pthe Deseret alphabet had progressedfar enough that manuscripts had

been prepared using it. However in 1857, anarmy supporting a new Washing- ton-jpointed governor came into Utah. The crival ofarmy, under the direction of Johnston, started what has been called the UtahWar. Because *- of the threat*to Salt Lake City, 'ehe finished manuscriptswere moved to Fillmore, south of Lake. Evidently in themove, the manuscripts were lost. However, t is loss only delayedthe alphabet's development.

The next external factor hindering the'Deseret alphabet/wasthe arrival of the railroad in 1869. Of this factor, Frisby said,"With the coming of the railroad in 1869,school books becomemore plentiful. 13 There came also the'distracting intluenceof the outside world. As

mentioned earlier, one of the i'eaSonsa hew alphabet had a chance to

succeedin the Great SaltLake Basinwas the isolation and unity of the

people'. The railroad threatened this isolation withintrusion of the

rest of the nation. It was not desirable for the Mormonsto learn a new

alphabet that would hinder trade withthe outside world just at a time

when this trade waS made possible by thlerailroad. Sudweeks blames the

downfall of the Deseret alphabeton the arrival of the railroad. .Sile_sayt

that "had the project [the books writtenin the Deseret alphabet] been

put into operation more promptly. . . it [the Deseret alphabet] might well

have succeeded.She explains that the alphabet wouldhave had a chance

to become Neular fifteen years earlierif it would have been printed be-

fore the coming of the railroad.--4owever, thougfithe'railroad may have con-

tributed to the lack of success of theDeseret alphabet, it was not the

cause of its demise. The Deseret alphabet did not have enough public suppoPt.

One of the reasons for its failure involved thetext itself. it was

expensive to develop type set in thenew unromanic characters, to translate ke/ f-

books into the new alphabet, and tohave the books printed. The cost for

the printing of the tivo primers and thetwo editions of the Book of Moimon

was$12,453.86.15 In addition, Orson Pratt received aroundsix thousand 16 dollars for his services. Totally, the Utah Territory and MormonChurch

spent about $18,500--a large amount inthat time period. Sales of the

works were intended to makeup the cost. SNIfOewever,yere never good

as,indicated by the absence ofamqtatasheet in most of the books found

today. Because the,primers hadsome errors in them, the advertisement

for the primers said that in eachjpopksold there would be an errata

sheet with corrections. Few books today contain erratasheets pointingto 17 low sales.

15, 46

One of the major reasorly for the failure of the Deseretalphabet was the form of the alphabet itself. Nash says: ". . . 'antentire page in Deseret print not only tires the eyes but is unpleasantto look at."18 He suggests that none of the designers were trainedin "the art of de- . 019 signing type.

Nash points out many fgneof the characters. For example, there

was no cursive script, so handwrittencharacters appear "rather disconnected" and "jumbled."2° He also calls the alphabetprimitive because of its lack of Acendors'and descenders and serifs--marks which theDeseret

alphabet founders had called"superflous." He points to the similarity

of characters such as Q and '05`; eandei; .land 4 , etc. as mak,ing reading

difficult because they were hard to distinguish. Furthermore, he says

because of their v-ariety in width and height, theletters did not fit well together. For example, characters likeqand j.are narrow while characters like C) and Gare wide. He summarizes saying: "The monotonous, tailless, uneven Characters of the Deseret alphabet violates theprinci- "21 ples of goo book type.

Maybe this factor contributed to the lack of overall publicsupport: Or maybe it is simply impossible to get a majority of thecitizens to relearn to read end write. F. D. Richard wrote, ". . . the Deseret alpha-

bet went out of use bya kind of tacit neglect,or by general distaste 22 for it."

The Deseret alphabet was more successful than mostsuch reformations because of the strong support of the leaders of the united andisolated

, Mormon community. Considering the impossibility ofcompletely changing the writing and reading habits of a large population,.Consideringthe

5 ij , 47

I, economic problems, andlhe problems i n the alphabet itself, it seems that

the reason fol" the success of the alphabetwas the enthusiasm of Brigham

, Youngthe political and church authority. _

0

, i r

'*-,....>

/

.r.

/

! 51. 48

Refeeènces in Chapter 5 ,)

1 Ivbnson, pp. 12, 29.

2 The Millenial Star, vol. 12, (1855), p. 262as quoted by Ivins,p.228. 3 Nasil,p. 19.

4 Nash, p. 20.

5 1'onson Interview. ^ 6 orge A. Smith letter, dated Mar. 7, 1855, as 4ciuoted by"%nson,p. 7 Deseret News, Jan. 17, 1870,as quoted by Monson, p. 25. 8 Ivins, p. 228.

9 Monson, p. 12.

10 Deseret News, Feb. 16, 1859,as quoted by Beesley, p. 12. 11Deseret News, Jan. 18, 1854,as quoted by Ivin, p. 227. 12 Nash, p. 20.

13Frisby,p. 244. 14Sudweeks, p. 806.

15 Nash, p,:" 22.

16 Frisby, p. 241.

17 Nash, p. 37. 18Nash, p. 26.

19 Nash, p. 29. 20 Nash, p.,29.

21Nash,,,p. 29. 22 Ivins, p. 231. .0100'

Chapter 6

, The Effect of the DeseretAlphabet

'Though the Deseret arphabet eventually failed topermanently affect

English orthography, itseems to have had more chance for success'than

other such attempts because of the Mormonleaders'.great motivation to ihstigate such a reform and because of the unique circumstancein the Salt Lake Valley. There were probably severalmotives for the creation of the Deseret alphabet. The Mormon' leadersmay have wanted to protect their people from worldly literature. They may have seen reformedEnglish orthography as a step closer to a pure Adamic language.. They did truly want tcrsimplify English orthography,and in this dream,they were not

alone. The 1800's were a period of great,interest in orthographicre- form and the Mormon situation seemed ideal for such reformbecause of their isloation, because of their respect foreducation,and because of

their unity behind theirleader Brigham Youhg:

ths history ofthe Deseret alphabet.has maliy , t times there.was a lot of enthusiasm for the new alphabet. Other times the alphabet seemed about to die.. But while Brigham Youngwas alive, he con- e stantly rekindled thecommitment for the Deserett.alphabet. t, The Deseret alphabet was successful in some respects. At its height, it had the vocal support of many of the church andstate leaders, many public organizationsand the maSpr publications inthe area. The,ain reason for its suCcess wasaga he support of the Mormon leader--the support of Brigham Young. Conversely, the Cause for itsfailure was the lack of public support. One reason the publicmay have not bW1 supportive

49 50

was the completion of the transcontinental railroad and the telegraph

1 system. With new trade at their door, it may have seemed foolish to . r tbe Mormons to hinder commerce by using a new writing.system. Or the

public' neglectmay have been because of problems in the alphabet itself.

However, the new alphabet failed probably chiefly because of the im-

probability of convincing a large groiip of people to supportan unfamiliar

, orthography. As Wnson pointed out; since the invention of the printing

press:, the spoken language has continued to evolve while the written

language has remained relatively constant) Millions of books have been

published in standard English orthography. If a person were to learn the

Deseret alPhabet and still have accessJto written information,he would

have two alternatives: have all written infarmation t^ranslated into'the

Deseret alphabet so that he could read it, or learn regularEnglish or; '

tbagraphy as well as ttle Deseret alphabet. The first alternative would

be impossible and the.second would beimpractical. This reason is just

one af the many reasons why changing orthography would, be difficult.

BecauStof the magnitude of''e change in a people's orthography, it is

surprising that the, Deseret'alphabet wasas 5uccessful as it was:"

There seems to be fewconcrete effects of the Deseret alphabet today.

The University of Utah doeshave boxes of un'sold First and Second Books.-

And often bookstores will havean occasional-book or two in this unusual

looking print. Jennie Larsen; a resident of a rural %mon town inUtah,

relates an interesting tidbit illustrating thesurprising appearance of

such books in bookstores. She explains:

I was in the Deseret.Bookstore,* in Salt Lake lpp.king /

*There is no direct relationship between the Deseret alphabe.tand the name of this bookstore.

9 * 51

for a story book. I had asked about a poster. . . . The sales clerk said he would go downstairs to the nether,

regions and see if they had any left from years back. , When he came back he did have what I had wanted and also

had a couple of copies of the Deseret alphabet books. I recognized them as copies,like I had of Grandpg Wood's [books] and [I] asked him where he found them. He said while he C.Ags hunting for my poster he had founda box of these bOoks. Evidently they hag been buried for years and ydars under other boxes.'

The alphabet is occasionally referred to by history buffsor the Jimp' grandchildren of early Pioneers. Mrs. Larsen relates the following story about her grandfather learning the Deseret alphabet.

My grandfather Josiah Leigh Wood learned to read with the Deseret alphabet. I can remember him telling me he learned to read when he was a boy, but he could not rdad the books I had in school. It didn't rrAke sense to me at the time and I thought'he must be quite sttipid but now I can, understand. He learned [to read] in the Deseret alphabet books, and'it was a totalry foreign language'to learn to read English even though he was speaking it all thetime. It must have been very confusing for children then.'

If few people remember the Deseret alphabet today, what is the verdict on its effect?Was it one man's ill-considered fancy or the hope of a man who dreamed of a perfect society?

Various historians pass different verdicts on the alphabet. Remy calls its characters "as simple as they are inelegant."4Nash callsit

"an impractical dream of a very practicalman--a dream which failed. On the other hand, Sudweeks titles it "an ingenious atteript to reform the

,6 written language of the West, and Weller and Reid label it as "an un- - usual accomplishment by a remarkable people."7 Frisby sums up the Wact of the Deseret alphabet in an interestingway. She explains that "to the historian, the Deseret alphabet is, little more thana noble experiment%

But4to the folklorist it becomes another significant expression ofthat yearning found in the hearts of alr people--the yearning fora more per-- 8 fect and harmonious society." 52

Brigham Young expresSed his desire for a society not hindered by the imperfections of communication systems. He dreams:

I long for the time that a point of the finger, or motion of the hand, will express every idea without utterance:* When a man is full.of [the] light of eternity, then tbe eye is not the only medium through which he sen, his ear is not the only means by which he understands.'

Young is not alone in his belief in a pure form of communication. * In the Bible, Zephaniah 3:9 states:"For then willI turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent." Young is one of the many who through time have longed for a "more perfect and harmonious" means of communication.

The responsibility for teaching students to understand written communication lies on reading teachers. Such Professionals often look. for ways to make reading easier and simplerp to learn.' Therefore, attempts at improving written communication, ,Attempts like the Deseret alphabet, should have a message for reading teachers.

Firstly, these ,attempts convey the message that teachers need to respect students' frustrations. When students such assJerry--who was mentioned in Chapter 1--complain about Eng14141 orthography, their pro- tests are not merely ignorant grumblings but valid complaints.

Throughout history, many philosophers,have sought a simpler means of communication. Furthermore, English orthography does have many incon- sistencies. Secondly, teachers need to help students recognize the validity of their struggle with English orthography. They should help students deal with frustration and helpleStness in the face of ortho- graphic inconsistencies. Casual reference to earlier attemptt at ortho- gi.-aphic reform may help students realize that they are not alone. If

(-3 53

students know the motivation for such reforms, thesuccesses and failures

of such attempts, and the result of theseattempts, they may better under-

stand the limitations of orthographic reform. If they understand the

problem clearly, they may be ableto cope with it with less frustration. \ When students complain about the inconsistenciesof English ortho- graphy, reading teachers should rememberthat such frustrations reflect

a similar desire of many in the profession--aesire foran easier way

Aik to understand written communication. rn accordance, the Deseret alpha- bet was also an expression of the universalyearning for a-better means of communication.

fit

4

A ! t& \I 54

References in Chapter 6

1 Monson Interview.

.' 2 -Jennie Larsen to-Susan Groverdated May 19, 1982.

3 'a Lrsen letter.

4 Remy, p. 212. .., 5 Nash, p. 41.-

6 , Sudweeks, p. 804.

7 Sam Weller and Ken Reid, "TheDeseret Alphabet:An Unusual

Accompli'shment by a Remarkable People," True West, Oct. 1958,p. 10. 8 Frisby, p. 244. '9

, Joutnal of Discourses, vol. 1 (1854), p. 71. 55a

References'

Bancroft, Hubert Howe. History of Utah. vol. 26. San Francisco: The

History Company, PuPlishers, 1889.

Beesley, Kenneth. "The Deseret Alphabet: Can Orthographical Reform

for English Succeed?" Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, 1975.

Bingham, Bob to Chad Flake.' Dated April 5, 1981. Or*iginal at Brigham

Young University, Special,Collections.

Burton, Richard F. The City of the Saints. New York: Harper Brothers,

Publishers, 1862.

Carter, Kate B. Heart Throbs of the West. vol. 2. Salt Lake City:

Daughters of Utah Pioneers, 1940.

"The Deseret Alphabet." Document from Brigham Young University Special

Collections.

"The Deseret Alphabet." Utah Historical Warterly. vol. 12, no. 1,2

(Jan., Apr., . 1944), 99-102.

The Deseret Book of Mormon. New York: Russell Brothers, 1869.

The Deseret Second Book. New York: Russell Brothers, 1868.

Downing, John A. "Initial Teaching Alphabet." Encyclopedia of Education,

vol. 5, 89-94.

Frisby, Leah R., and Lee, Hector. "The Deseret Readers." Utati Humanities

Review, vol. 1 (1947), 240-244.

Thales H."Journal." Utah Historical Quarterly. vol. 12, no. 1,

(Jan., Apr., 1944) 99-102.

Ivins, S. S. "The Deseret Alphabet." Utah Humanities Review, vol. 1,

no. 3 (July, 1947), 223-239. 50 55b

Jenson, Andrew. Church Chronology. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret

1899.'

Journal of'Discourses:

Larsen, Jennie to Susan Grover. Dated May 19, 1982.

Monson, Samuel C. "The Deseret Alphabet." Ideas of Order. Provo, Utah:

BI.Y.U. Press (1978), 248-252.

Monson,Samuel,C. "The Deseret Alphabet."M.A. thesis, ç.olumbia Uni-

versity, 1947.

Monson, Samuel C. Personal Interview. Provo, Utah, December 7, 1982:

Nash, William V. "The Deseret Alphabet." Urbana, Illinois: University

of Illinois Library School, 1957. * '44* Powell, William. "Utah Territory." March 1968;

"Pro and Con: Teach Reading Old-Fashioned Way?" U.S. News and Wbrld

Report,. vol. 92,-no. 15 (ApTql 19, 1982), 69-70.

Remy, Jules, and Brenchly, Julius. A Journey to the Great-Salt-Lake-City.

vol. 2. London: W. Jeffs, Publishers, 1861.

Spache, George D., and Spache, Evelyn B. Reading in the Elementary School.

Bostoh: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1977.

Walker, Elizabeth C. "Brigham Young's Desei'et Alphabet."Montana, The

Magazine of Western History. (Autumn,'1874). 54-57.

Watte George D. *Exercises in Phonography.-Great Salt Lake City: W. Richards,

Printer, 1851.

Weller,-Sam, and Reid, Ken. "The Deseret Alphabet." True West. (Oct. 1958),

16-19.

Widstoe, John A. "What was the Purpose of the Deseret Alphabet?" Improve-

ment Era. vol. 47, 33-34.

Sudweeks, Leslie L. "The Deseret.Alphabét: The Story of an Ingenious

AtteMpt to Reform the Written language of the West."The Improvement

Era. vol. 67, 805-806., Appendix A

TABLE OF COMMON ENGLISH SPELLINGS

This chart Is taken from the American CollegeDictionary.

ACD SYMBOL SPELLING EXAMPLES a a, ai hat, plaid a a, ai, ao, au, ay, ea ei, ey ate, rain, gaol, gauge,ray, steak, eh, veil, obey lit a a, al, ay, e, ea, ei dare, chair, prayer, there,wear, their a a, e, ea father, sergeant, hearth b, bb , bed, hobby ch ch, tch, te, ti, tu chief, catch, righteous, question natural d, dd, ed do, ladder, pulled e, a; ae, ai, ay, e, ea, el, eo, ie, oe, u any, aesthetic, said, says, ebb, leather

heifer, leopard, friend, foetid',bury 4 e ae, ay, e, ea, ee, ei, eo,ey, i, ie,oe Caesar, quay, equal, team,see, deceive people, key, machine, field, f,'ff, gh, ph amoeba feed, muffin, tough, physics g, gg, gh, gu, gue give, egg, ghost, guard, demagogue h h, wh hit, who e, ee, i, le, o, u, ul, Y England, been,, if, steve,women, build busy ai, ay, ei, ey, ie, uy, y, ye aisle, aye, height,eye, ice, tie, buy, sky, lye j ch, d, dg, dge, di, 9, 99, j Greenwich, graduate, judgment,bridge soldier, magic, exaggerate,'just c, cc, cch, ch, ck, cq, cque,cu, gh car, account, bacchanal, character,back, acquaint, sacque, biscuit, lough,kill, liquor 1 1, 11, live, call in chm, gn, lm, m, mb, mm,mn drachm, paradigm, calm,more, limb, hammer, hymn 0 ,gn, kn, mn, n,fln, pn gnat:, knife, mnemonic, not, ng n, ng, ngue runner pneumatic, pink, ring, tongue o a, o wander, Pox o au, eau, eo, ew, o. oa, oe, oh,oo hautboy, beau, yeoman,sew, note, road, toe, oh, brooch, soul, flow o a, ah, al, au, aw, o. oa, ou tall, Utah, talk, fault,raw, order, broad, fought oo eu, ew, o. oe, oo, ou,u, ue, ui maneuver, grew, move, canoe,ooze, troupe, rule, flue, fruit. oi oi, oy wolf, look, should, pull 1 oil, toy ou ou, ough, ow cut, bough, brdw P, PP pen, stopper r, rh, rr, wr red, rhythm, cerot, write Appendix.A 57 ACD (Continued) SYMBOL SPELLING EXAMPLES s c, ce,'ps, s, sc, sch-, ss city, mice, psychology, sh ce, ch, ci, Ish, see, schism, loss s, sch, sci, se, sh ocean, machine, special, si, ss, ssi, ti, chsi pshaw, sugar, schist, conscience, nauseods,ship. mansion, tissue, mission,mention, fuchsia t ed, ght, phth, pt, t, th, tt talked, bought, phthisic, ptomaine,toe, th th thyme, bottom thin th th, the then, bathe u o, oe, oo, ou, u son, does, flood, couple, u eau, eu, eue, ew, ieu', iew, cup u, ue beauty, feud, yu, yew, you queue, few, adieu, view, ur use, cue, yule, yew,you er, ear, ir, or, our,ur, yr tem learn, thirst,worm, courage, v hurt, myrtle , f, ph, v,vv w o, u, w of, Stephen, visit,flivver, choir, quiet, well, choir y g, i, j, Y . lorgnette, union, z s, sc, ss, x, z, ss heallehujah, yet has, discern, scissors,Xerxes, zone dazzle .. zh g; s, si, z, zi garage, measure, division, . azure, e brazier a, ai, e, ei, eo, i, i.a,o, oi t alone, mountain,system, mullein, dungeon, easily, . parliament, gallop, porpoise, curious, circus, r ar, er, ir, or, our,ur, yr liar, father, elixir,labour, augur, martyr

6;?.. 58

Appendix B

initial Teathing Alphabet (ITA)

INITIAL TEACHING ALPHABET

CI EE face bed cat dog key

fghieik _feet leg hat fly jug key 1m ri oe p x letter man qest _over pen girt

redrstuevw _spoontree use voice window

yzsw/hCh yes zebra daisy when chair _ ..... th .th jh3 rl three the shop televisionring a.au-aeioor father ball cap_ egg milk box 11 CO GO GU 91 up book spoon out oil

63 TIMDESERET ALPHABET.

X 0.Tho1ll .111Nt1,11.

ihng &was. 141tor. . Sound.

Lotter. Hams. Sound. 1

e.. ... asin... b 8.... a ate. 8.. ah art. 0 . aw I aught. de.. as in. .cheese.

0. . o oat.9 (D....00 ooze. ga. ..as in . gate. Short SasaiL3 of the above.

as in . it. 6 A et. eth.. asin..thigh. 4 114 at. the t' thy.. ot,

9 book. O esh.. asin..flesh. S zhe vision. i . asin .ice. ur sburn. . ow owl. 1 Lii. . woo 3 in , . .ye tt II (1) ..h eng . as in.!myth. WORDS OF TWO O1Ui011l 8 YEIABLE8. WORDS OF OINESYLLABLE. aqa7q ae 3') Ob OL 06 3b9M MflaS EACH AIM AFT EGYPT ALIMENT AIVPIFICE AI.I. OATH GOZE OLIgaG)09aDI (10a1F,) AUTHENTIC OMISSION *f TOOEI.E a10. 4C1 AI V17,1 INK EDGE AM ON UP FT!' alaeaE19.1 INDIVIDUAL EDUC. TION cJ OU IA EYE A(1 141.6) 11(31/1a6aDI viEl6req10lua OWL. WOOD YIEI.D HANK ACQUISITION OBSERVATORY

...--, UJ C.) "CI CIS '114 1.2.`,D ElOrl qtArl4'M a, 6)1(11/1 -T PLGIIGII li(MGHT x m DISTINGUISH TWIST % DROUGHT ...4 c COUNTIN0-Hour3E cala4-3 g ritAqz 11C3 S 7.1@ri (9(1) C7 <,---- TWENTIETH EXPECT AuniNts ow.41, c:RASS GREEK (AIN \OSAIS 1) VII Cliarha 940 EXIGENCE LONGITUDE MORRM% f)3S FirL FACE . VERSE ImEATIL C3a1/161`) vie ACSIS FIIOUGiFl KINGDOM or RIGHTEOUSNESS s31(1 6S1 Oa° 4g..1719-r Oirdelqqa. @s011.10.2.11ar1 SAINT ZEST mstr AZURE QUANTITY CONSANGUINITY

Vstil1MS9 Cirv4Mu (1v49..S t'Ari bill) YOUNGEST BROTHER 901 Sjki OF 'THOMAS RMIIT LAVCII MOON SING. 61 ,Appendix D Alphabet Comparison Table (Beesley, 1975)

** I.P.A. Stout Bann' Rery Watt Haskell Speller . _ News Books Pitman . 6 . L 6 a I ?.., E. el 2 . .3 3 .'3- 3 3 a,-eL 3 a **6 * , 9 0 E;). D 0 S. 4r 0 ' aa cri e OOOOOOO C, a 5 OU. : O 0 0 I '0 OOOOOO.....0 - .6) LL 5 CD 0 0 co t. OOOOO... 7 g. 1.- L , .1 E 3 J A (1 ,- ri O -lb er 1 11 L , ....P . . O4 a . , . 1) 1;) vi d 0 , o...... E v 0 A i I A ei , en r LL -. 7 u ..9" .7.) U.," , 9 cl . o . OOOOOO 5. 'La ett. .. 13 01\ f)t, 01.1 . (1, . 1 A . 1 aLL OOOOOO. E ti,

15 Dl ,,,1 OOOOOOOOOO...... i- OOOOOO .O , 1.5 ..lu- pre_

7 ..1 . V- ( L ) Y.1 OOOO O . . Y 3 6.) (LC) OO LJ 6J LO t.)-) u..) OOOOOOO... . ) T A O, OOOOO OO .. ..1 ...... OOOOO 2) 7 .: P 7 1 1 -1 1 ....._ P

*Thales H. Haskellhad the habit of dropping his r'sbdfore Consonants. **This isan undated manuscript "The Deseret PhoneticSpeller" in he Vault k....,,,, of the L.D.S.Archives.

These corparisonsare only approximate. Spellings vary widelyin the early manuscripts. ,62 Appendix D

(Continued) .

Berm I.P.A Stout Remy Watt Haskell S eller News Bo ks

,... 1 ... . a El 0 n ii . 2 t 9 9 lb.. ************1 .t cl a 3 rli El CI .0000 oo o if 4 CP) C *****c c .,..C. c1-5 C, 5 (q.4 CI C _ . k 0 63 6 CD I. . a s . . i., .. *** 7 9 al k.,..,- ca , * .4 a I *** , * I 8 f P P 8 P p P 4 c .. 4, . .., * 9 V @ 8 6 6 I (3 04* -v 0 e Z. L L y ... . t . 1 6 6 4 ** . . * .._,.., 2 S s ' 0 5 ***********.° , . Z 3 6 6 z .* 4 6 ** 7.. 4 i 0 0 0 1 . . **** *** .) ) 5 3 S S .*************....****** r di 6 9) I) (i/ 1 . i ,. 1 7 l, U L L -.%,. r . m , 8 2 TY1 D ..

. Li n 1 1,, 9 I t1 11 n i ...... 13 lu Vi o Vi IA Vi li

,

1,W 1 ULI tvi -V k1

2 34' '11 is' . 5r .G5' ** N./ r+ P * aL 3 Ert ci) V'QV ,ii ,J4d cLr G 4 Cia" 63

Appendix E

(3 0 E A AN AW . , 0 ions.. long , long ions ions

0 ill'' NI ti .4,1 00 E A Ions Ali AW brti ore -ef ore,

A 9 01, vl 0 00 t©9O,L07".i. 1 .01 ow WOO YE' o

p GA F V ETH

Z 8 6 S THE S Z ESN ZHEE

M V NG

4,

/ alfe,/ -///0:1/et

The Mormon A4nabei. ihe alphabet aboveis a version taken from Remyand j'enchley (1861,p. 185). It Was printed Franci,sco in 186 in San and is consideredto be the first printing of theDeseret alphabet. 64

Appendix F

EXERCISES

IN PHONOGRAPHY.

DESIGNED TO CONDUCT THEPUPIL TO A PRAC- TICAL ACQUAINTANCE WITHTHE ART.

[CALIXD PliuNoGRAPHIC CLtbs liu0K."3

ITY G. B. WATT

"%Vim that is much in tho habit of writing, h:ts not ufteii wished fuir%twin moans of expressing bytwu or throo dashes of tho things Are, it pen, that wlitchtAs requires inch an expenditure of Limo andlalror to cio llllll PaPer? Our present mode uf ;n the last degree; unworthycommunication of must bo felt tu be cumber:mono MCA ns of bringing the theso days cif inyentioi*.we require :oinn correspondence." operations of the mind, and of 1ho hand, intu chwr

GREAT SALT LAKE (Try: W. RICHARDS, Printer.

1P31.

Note tbhe quote in the middle of this /-"- title page. it restates Watt's desire, to simplify English orthography; 65%

Appendix G

of.

C'S

\C) 1Ce° 42641 SA X 1)041 vleunapt,

1LE1* 1E0% Pt4,T 11,816 48 sau

X 1.1filtWit J6Lia

THE TESTIMONYOF THREE WITNESSES

- Z11011E11

1 t

Book ni* Mormoncovet Avritt= in the special divinely inspiredMormon language called "Deseret."

This pamphletcover reflects the opinion that theDesAret alphabet wavia secret Momper/code. 66

Appendix H

The First Issue of the Ness' S5 Gold Piece

Obverse Reverse Courtesy of The Deseret News

. This coin had On one side: the inscription "Holiness to the Lord" in Deseret characters. ClAsocui S.Aorlia ago. 3

(1-A8r)tAl 41JB/1AI.

Long Sound3. lAter Name. Letter.Name. Bound. P

a....e ....as in . eat. .b

a ate. ....t

. ..ali art. ... (1

0. . . aw aught.C . ...elle as in cheese. 0 oat. 00Z.e. S./ Short Soumis of the above. . .. in...gate.

as in it ....f A et.

4 at.L .. ..oth..as in .thigh. ot.

*r t. . 9 book. .. z Doubt. S'oands. 1 .esh..as in..11esh.

J...... as in. S zhe"\'iSiOfl.

.. . ow . owl. burn. Ye

Iii.... WOO h Ii

..eng.as in.lengt h. c0 . 4 al8a1,11 S.Aorhti C1,1'601%11 S.1orho Elgo. 5

1,,J.8.11

X 1.m.

1.11-1L.

X06 CtIMIA TO 1'46tlt'o OW% 10 VIII 2(Ct

1,18116 tit2( Pri8-1 /190, oto 1...Jat 10 omit,

S.Aorita ago. ail ip @CI tqcN.41 atIs Wo tJtdo 8 1.11I. X lAls tG .46 L1 1toltt6 l'46 4.41 ath 411 10 try',irmns, tri vtos. lita OA 980 11011 a WA, '10 grill £146) a NO 4,18q6 DiIf Prisl Ot 1...01&, al 2( Yter8 ,46 1.44. TliLlti WO WO'10 100 tiJtat rtAus ago, 4fieltact 2(.19 40,11s, 061)01 '1E61411 4.18'sttli Lt6 POI 41i1E, IdO 98 8fl 41 1'09,4h(1 '100 LAW /Os EI°O. X 1etlIt'18.. v16 ellMiAtsTO 04'e 'tan 2(.15 11 9046 .46 2( 410 1-11, W..15 OL. tJa 11.1-111, Pau 1.tnet too, w.J9 o. 'fbui, Wa T-16 irvio'to tact, to U9(1 ctiflo

ritp

1 1.

, 69 -

AppendixJ

..413 11,E, ACi 10 Y:ews.tuts&lolls. XtSte ) .piot1 t6 OW P.01 Ct Latlii WrS. 10 :Dt06 1(.15s.:Le6, 41a -11,..ru.t1.1644h0 'ILES.

X sa-so..o.: rts itcYrevt ts Writ ..:13r iLse th l'Ute VOL Thert,c, 41:61 OW D.00 t1 t6 LO1 10 8 e 6.P11 PJ,It leS1J,O. . X'a6C1LOT.Jit ..lisc...:tWEI' .P1'.:LtO, -AO ES OL.0 10 Y46 Sre Inc. Xs 1t6 VI'orhil., 440 Lr't I tlh..41 P01 L''.1 1LE6 -111(1 0EDG, E Ljqa El cr-C;

1 ari xe T4e ou sorts .,.4,3 slOrt, o3o r.. tl io ;PO, WE EI1 frLLt,.ACI PCL..:e etort'

I Xs CKY liot C.2;s 1.i.c Nit t., D0,1.11711;

.:1101'4 OLC't LtiLi1ESOS 10 1-1POID ; .1110

1 ili.J11 O6 81 06-rt, .wte l'46 LDC 0/441.40 2G:D 10 ,"ILE. -

,The picture of riildren /On the seasaw . accompanied a' lesson in the Deseret First Book on recreation. , ,

: 70 7 -

Appendix K (Continued)

,

..1

a lutllou,it01101,7 MU siecp, Te 1.1.1rhaAfld...11 YO 84'. ri .orex wrqua sJoifct, LI@a actDrhei91X soa,.

The poem is, "Twinkle, Twinkle LittleStar" Written in Deseret characters. In the second book it is called "The Stars." (taken.from Samuel C. Manson,, "The Deseret Alphabet" Ideas of Order (Provo, Utah: BYU Press, 1978), p. 248.)

,

.., 1,1/1t3O'it,JG 1213

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This copy was made from a photography of the original Minutesof the Pardwan Stake-- 1855 which is in the Archrves-at Britharn Ycluñg University.8 m , 4, . , 21 -rt , i-t 41' 4 .141"444%.' fi tf.311:1_4( ',,: 4. Le eh 3_4, , 4..4110Pif L.r 14%! , .: i V st k it'. t i't .; ,, 74 - :- :- "'t4fil'i .1 4 Itti,f 4. k',1 jst ' ?A $4..p,...v i.), , t- ' , i ' i , .% v '4 I .v'''';:. 'i .); -. s ;:,..e, I I' I I Ar li.l'iti!:: 43 i1,1/44.,rtii,.44411 c'z''.. ,...o..- ,,,,,,,,,,,t1 ;;I k".."4 '7.4.til 1 . 4 4,:i7! v %, all ,....17,:, ler,.$ i,:t114 41( . t. .)) 14'441.1,71kie '' ',,,. g 'IV F li ..f--- i'rit'i;17., ' t:1,1;X. vl' C4'....I' ;3=1 , ,o 9'`'d '. _,t/ :, ,., frol.i.,3 .14 01: ,,,,. ' % ..,t_ , 2.ta I" .4 ,ic . . .4, .x4 ,,),,,.. 'ye.* % .,, ,.., ." ,l, . . N *' gre r t , iPii" .41 . , ) 4: 4 Ze : ,t..it,11;1p41,4:4;:iiii.,;JA.k:i.:.er;efil,:-.4r...1 0..4,4 ,i'..;71kiIkicit-4'i 1: 71.,tirt,, 4 ! ,#,; f, t.iqlfq i r r 1 o.i.EA i. 1'..etN;4414.itit,iiitl ,1*;,...ii. y ,I -. ' ..)tl.' I' ': - _ ., i, I i7d 11.:17 ;414 i',.. c. ., .1;',,t.,14. ...,'..:4 4.1.,t1gtitiLf.i..filfitt". ,,I, , .... . I. t.11'' 4 ite"lvt f ; .., ',.' s ..t C e 44r k4e :r tH t it, "- S.44°- . .4 ' 1 o .. 'fp"t) .7. ;''... 144 ' t. 1 ; ;.- .. 4' i+l''; :f)..'ti"r1:1'.....3?§;1. :4 r irrer,....,,.,...5... .1-. 4 r ; ? ,r1 ... 7. ' ' r ,. 41',...,q. - 1 ...1:.I : (1:4'1 ' ,.,- - :. --:j'I'kl i x ).' 1 - . :71 I: S'a,-a.,r ,- .7' t.. , , ,,344:4, 4)74"' ,, ' .,. - T' , ..- . ..., 2 t ... _ it i l' 4 _ ...A ' 1 i ... z. > I.- r\ - oz .... ' . ... ' 3. - . ' -, ' ) ' ' . i...4 ). .. .. - ' .7)' P? ' r. ,. '" '. ! :4 .4.: . , , Iti 0 'i^, i' ' 1 .1 4,' li 1.,`Itgt . ;V"it A '':. : ' . ., 4 11. I ,r-t':', 3 % , Ii?I'1V:f ' 4 .1 ' ' ' 1 A . . y 'e. . . 41, 1 I ( ) 1 ", 7. g ; t ik' ., ' '', !( ' . ' 1:---17_1'''' ' ,{ 111A. ')\%. 'AI ),:133" .--41- : .1 . . J Ilt,11',Itt 4i 11. 'Itr-',1; t;t/; i.t;-.,t,5,1i1 l'ap .4 i fi- rf:' j...411. 0 ' ' '''' " ' ./} ).144)i ) ' ;IliTril, - , ' 1141 I Vi / 1.`," ti I '- errorxrt (Continued) 75 Holiness to theLord Words Spoken

In the Stake ofParowan

'.(which) stakewas founded Elder George A. Smith at ParowanJanuary 13th 1851. Lunday November 3ed 1855. This evening Pres.J.C.L. Smith said that thereought to be a book kept in which should be recorded, all sayings ofconsequences whether spoken in the stand,or the (seat) ought to paysome one to keep some record, together With allother (records)relating to 'the and stake, forfuture reference. (Considering) the (case) I, James HenryMailtiteau, realizing the importance 1. and truthafr]the..(saying)(have)now such A record. Not with a'desireto (gain) (any)

profit there'from,as . , but fram a desireto (do) good, and pray Godmy Father to kess 'pre witk his holy spiritand with :isdam, that Imay keep a )ust, true, nd a (faithful)(record (began) this record the date (set)(at)the comrencement of this book. But (wasY first reada few saying spoken before this date.

SUndav, May 17, 1851 President B.Young, and his council, andmany of the (leaders) Of Israel (meeting)'convend in log couhcil house. Pres'. H.C. Kimball,said that Ironcou ty will be. the weralthiest in the territory,'onaccount of its mi eral wealth: also that though the earth ii parched and d and the streams ofwater are small, yet the streams willincr ase in.size and the rainis descend more then they nOware thae4a1l the land May be tilled (by) thesaints) of Zion, until

- t) , .9r pen ix 76. (amtimied) 'they shallsay "give tis room, that we may dwell". At the same meeting the city of Parowan received itsname, which is the injun name of the valley in which it issitdated. The name of

the city, previous . 1 to this was,"Louisa". At the same session also, the first city council was chosen,vis- -vis. But the city was not organized under its charteruntil the November following when William H. Dame was electedmayor, and myself recorder.

The foregoing prophecyis fulf - ed, for itnow rains more than it used to formerly, and the soil lsmore damp. And George A. Smith an apo tle,,who founded thecity of Parowan,,and presided over the sta until the fall of 1851, Advocated fencing 4 small field on the uplandand making good, improvement. He -also said that the cour ougfit never to be to run into the little salt creek, but thatit ought all to be siphoned over the Lb irrigate it% Sunday Nov 4 1855 This date, WilliamHeap, who.was, last fall cut okf the church for goingto Caiifornia, and had come back to of his family here..And being invitedto the .stan'd, said that cbmmencement of his and-apostacy was in neglection to attend to his'family, and negl'ectionto obe'y the councils of the authorities from whichthe devil led himbyy ',He said he desired to begin and do his firstworks ; 'over, and had felt as.,though it was'hisduty to begin, wherehe left off, and who regained his standing ina place where,he lost- it. He .was bap.tized at noon and c'onfirmed,a. memberof the church. 77

Appendix M (Continued) April 5,1981

Mr. Chad J. Ffake c/o Harold B. LeeLibrary ,BYU, Provo, Utah 084602

Dear Mr. Flake, 1

Thank you for sending me a copy of this documentfor my 4ollection. The tatered paper is a summary of someevents in Panowan. entry is Jan.,20, 1856; The last The "Board of,the ParowanStake" (ten pages) has an entry Jan. 3, 1856. They don't seem tohave been written in haste, perhaps theywere,copied from some other record, in January of1856. My computer projectshave priority--but I will put,aside ,myspare hobby time for thiswork.

I will need some months to proceed in thisway. I thought.o list . some things for yourinterest.

1. These papers are writtenin the earlier I am using a type of Deseret alphabet. copy, of your N1288.8 D457 1854(original invau14.)

The original was madewith a slight printing error. . corrected, its= y B = ve this can be seen in the example on that orl'ginal" copy, and this is the form being used in actualusage on the Documents.

, 2. My primary time is spent trying to figureout the individual tiny ,letters, from script correcting lines, .blurstnd the recorders in writing. individualit

Mtny letters or wo rds can not be diScoveredas to their proper mean- ing as a result. The resolution on some entire pagesis also poor. only parts can becyphered. Perhapa

Often !loops areabsent and the connecting , lines makethem appear to be different letters,throwing me off the track. Once I gain inexperience, things should becomeeasier.

This alphabet lends itself, mdch better toprinting than script. 3. pobreviations,arebeing sec] in the text of 4. the -original ()gapers. Very helpful IS thepr or $entification of Some tiny on the first page of the'm script letter's nutes. Here's a rough draft of tatered paper. a part of the

1 Robert Bingham transl. d the minutes from the Parowan Stake into traditional nglish.orthography in 1981. BS/. reading tne letter and transcriptionrecord following, one can glgan the story of this projectand get a feel for the process of translatingDeseret characters into English. (original. in vault at BrighamYoung University). 2 , Appendix M 78 "(Continued)

HOLINESS TO THE LORD

.014. WORDS SPOKEN IN THE STAKE OF PON(Parawati)

stake was founded LD 'George A. Smith at Pon. January 13th 1851. November 3rd 1885. TAs evening J.C.LSmith said that

there ought, to be a book keptin which should be recorded, all

things of consequence wheater spoken in the stand, or theG t(seat),

ought to pay (them or" some) (one?)to keep some record. Together with all other records relating to the stake.. For future (reprint ar reference).

Naar the bottom of the other sideof this tatered paperI cam across this name and encounteredmy first complete line.

PRES..14. 11. amIE SAID.HE WAS WILLING TO DO ALL HE'COULD IN HISNEW CALLING. .

The entry is under a Jan.-20,1956 date.

'This apparently after the Dec. 30, 1855 death of Pres. John C.L.Smith mentioned just above this entry..

The original Recoed in Parowan in 1851 at its founding,was a James Lewis. Its possible he may have beenrelated to Samuel & Tarton -Lewismy ancestors who were also there atthe-founding.

It is time onsuMing, tedious, andthereWillbe errors, butJ.I ap glad to participaten this work which touches me so clOsely. ° . .. If a transcription from the Salt LakeArchieves appears, please let. me know. .t.

Sincerely yours,

Bob "Bingham P. O. Bpx..,3285 Van Neys,california 91407

4- Appendix M (Continued) 79 The Parowan Stake

MINUTES - 1855

Transcribed under the direction ofBro. Chad Flake, curator, Special Collection's, BrighamYoung University. Transcribed by Joseph Robert Binghambetween March 30, and September 18, 1981; a descendent ofsome Parowan pioneers. Processing of typed pages by Helen RUthWalker., formerly a member_of the Dutch Reformed Chui.ch,who lost much when choosingagainst her parent's religious beliefsand beconing a missionary for theChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-daySaints. The Parol4an Stake minutes 1855were recorded in the .Deseret Alphabet by James Henry Martineau.- coungiler of Pres. J.C.L. Smithas indicated in the document. The drawingson the doCumentwere likely drawn by Martineau as hewas also' an artist oamte Life and Timesof Jösepti Fish, Mormon Pioneer 1970,page 67-. Correct.spelling for the names ofindividuals'came from that b68k;but alsb John Doyle Lee, juanitaBrooks- 1979. Words enclosedthus - tf ( ) are likelythe correct ones, based on the fragmentsthae'can be faentffied. Parentheses are4._._ also used byMartineau in the document. The key ,for thealphabet being used in theoriginal.docvment is in syu SpcialCollections: M188.8 DU57 1854 [sic]' (original In valut).Thistdifkers from . thealph\aloet key in, the 1868 DeseretAlphabet printed books.

e 4 Appen ix (Continued) The foLlowing'symbols were found to bepresent in the original document and'are notto be found in either of theabove alphabet key Sources':

=0.1/4-=014/ u Near the end ofthe transcribing a still third*alphabet key was found by Helen Walkerin the Los Angeles City Library whichrecords these actual symbolsand is .attached. As there isa reference in the original documentas to the abandonmentof these symbols on October 20,1855., we can...be 'certain the attached variantalphabet was in use previous tothat date.

In addition,Martineau sometimes, though notalways, combined lettersof the Deseret Alphabet to formdn inovative type letter. There are tiritypes of t'heseletters.as follows: a -8f :(P,N) in gieb-D,f (benediction)gIVCDO1 rt = 71(PR), asin 71, -(Pr's.)7r% = 7, (TL) asin 2 ,,A//, (u,ntil) It, 8L (BL). asin I 341. , '(ab le) 38(

(PL) asin7Wz "(principle)

tC = (HZ) asin 0 Story)T61.0P2

11" r (TR) .asin awl, (triak)_lrot,;C, =yr(TH ) afsin 07( (other)- r /= Dr as 'in EnD (ark)eticz er (DR) as' ina.42143-3,6 (boundries)&4/$Vern

Listea beloware same particularities of Martineaus' ,handwriting whichmay.prove invaluable to the cypheringoffurther Martineau DeseretMaterialas it may appear: A.v"( )ais shows a variatIon of the!(R). (R) another variation of ther (R).

11, Append i x M ft(Continued ) 81

`a. (i)

. (i) All are variationsof the i soundas in,ship

(i)

(i)

6 (z) very often seen- an unclosed g_(z) which vo-

.appears mistakenly to bean 6 (L). 10_ (esh) often seen - an open D (esh) appearingto be two separate letters . (B) oftenseen, an open 8 (B) appearing to e two separate letters )(ow) a tiled p(ow),mistakenly appearing to be,a C5 (ga) (i) -uncrossed variation ofj.so nd aippearing to beaj (N 6) (k) unclosedvariation o 6D(k) appearing to'be a u) (woo)

(ga) a variation of then(ga) withoUta loop airopearing

to be a (k)

The reference to the"adultury" of Samuel& Sara Lewis in which they were temporarily disfellowshippedis an apparent -reference to attempted polygomy without thepermission-of Brigham Young. See John Doyle Lee - Juanita Brooks 1979, page 188 fora simi1ar case in Parowantwo months later.

In reference to "BlackJohn" beingone of those present at the bedside of Pres. J.C.L. Smdth at,his'death. This may have been the former serVant of a Mrs. Robinson who whenmigraitng to ,Utah reportedlycame to Parowan with-such an attendant. This was related to me .by a Robinson decendant I met while/visiting'Parowan recently. --September 15, 1981 J. Rober Bingham P.O. Box 3785 Van Nuys, Califbrnia- 91407-3785 de. Va.

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Appendix 0

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