GEORGE - When did the LDS begin to use the name "Mormon?" I
know where the name comes from, but when did they, the
Mormons begin to call themselves Mormons?
JOEL - Actually the early Church members were not the first
to call themselves "Mormons"; this was a term first
coined by people not of our faith who wanted a short,
derogatory name to give members of the LDS Church,
taking the word from the Book of Mormon. In the early
1830's the public began to first use the term
"Mormonites" or "Mormons". They were used as early as 1831 as seen in a New York
Newspaper article titled "The Mormonites". See the
April 28 1831 article at this page:
The Church members themselves began using the word "Mormon" in the mid to late 1830's
after the term lost its derogatory meaning.
GEORGE - When did they begin to use the name "Desseret" and where does it come from?
JOEL - The word Deseret is found in the Book of Mormon,
"And they did also carry with them Deseret, which, by
interpretation, is a honey bee" (Ether 2:3).
Because the Book of Mormon was written in "reformed
Egyptian" (Mormon 9:32), it has been suggested that
the etymology of the word Deseret is related to the
ancient Egyptian word "dsrt", read by Egyptologists
as "desheret".
GEORGE - Where does the Bee Hive come from and when did it's use begin in Utah?
JOEL - The emblem of the beehive is used in the seal of the
State of Utah and is a common decoration in Utah
architecture, symbolizing industriousness.
The Deseret News (Oct. 11, 1881) described the symbol
of the beehive in this way: "The hive and honey bees
form our communal coat of arms. It is a significant
representation of the industry, harmony, order and
frugality of the people, and of the sweet results of
their toil, union and intelligent cooperation."
Both the words Deseret and Behive came into use as a
proper name and symbol soon after the saints came into
the Salt Lake Valley(1847)
GEORGE - When did they begin using Moroni blowing the trumpet?
JOEL - Moroni is commonly portrayed with a trumpet because of
an interpretation of a prophecy of John the Revelator
wherein he saw an angel heralding the return of the
everlasting gospel to the earth in the last days:
"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven,
having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that
dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred,
and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear
God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his
judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven,
and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters"
[Rev. 14:6-7].
The angel moroni figure blowing a trumpet was first
used in the form of a weather vane on the top of the
Nauvoo temple, which was first built in 1840-1841.
There is a picture of it at this site
(Click on "Graphic Images" button and then click on the "weather vane" link).