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).

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