2 Books on Deseret Alphabet History: Broad Overview or 1860 Vocabulary?

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Choosing a broad history of the Deseret Alphabet or a focused account of its use in an 1860 English-Hopi vocabulary? The Deseret Alphabet: A Fixed and Unalterable Sound traces the alphabet’s origins, functions, decline, and renewal; An 1860 English-Hopi Vocabulary Written in the Deseret Alphabet reproduces all 486 manuscript entries with modern English and Hopi translations.

1. The Deseret Alphabet: A Fixed and Unalterable Sound

Best for Historical overview

The Deseret Alphabet: A Fixed and Unalterable Sound is suited to readers seeking an overview of the alphabet’s history and its role in Latter-day Saint identity. It covers its origins in Joseph Smith and Brigham Young’s linguistic vision, its social, spiritual, and linguistic functions, its decline, and its modern renewal.

The book also examines the alphabet’s roots in Joseph Smith’s esoteric translations and draws on previously unpublished archival material.

2. An 1860 English-Hopi Vocabulary Written in the Deseret Alphabet

Best for 1860 vocabulary and mission context

For readers focused on the Deseret Alphabet’s use in an 1860 English-Hopi vocabulary, An 1860 English-Hopi Vocabulary Written in the Deseret Alphabet reproduces all 486 entries from the original manuscript, with the Deseret Alphabet and modern English and Hopi translations.

It also explains the alphabet’s history and Mormon missions to the Hopi, with background on missionaries Marion Jackson Shelton and Thales Hastings Haskell.

Which should you choose?

• For a historical overview of the alphabet’s origins, functions, decline, renewal, and role in Latter-day Saint identity:
  • The Deseret Alphabet: A Fixed and Unalterable Sound
• For a focused account of its 1860 English-Hopi vocabulary and Mormon missions to the Hopi:
  • An 1860 English-Hopi Vocabulary Written in the Deseret Alphabet