The word deseret means “honeybee.”¹ The honeybee is a common symbol of hard work, productivity, and self-reliance. In fact, honeybees are so efficient that they usually make two to three times more honey than they need to survive.² They work quickly—they can fly up to 15 miles per hour!—and they work together from spring to fall to produce the 60 pounds of honey needed to sustain their colony during the winter.³

So why did we pick this name for our store? When we first started in 1938, our founders wanted the name to represent the value of hard work. The store was initially going to be called Welfare Industries, and the general manager planned to order stationery with that name. But on the day before the stationery was to be printed, he got a call from Heber J. Grant, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the organization that sponsors Deseret Industries. President Grant had thought about the name and felt it wasn’t right.

Then he thought of the name Deseret Industries, which better communicated the overall mission of the organization by evoking the symbolism of the honeybee. After the name change was agreed on and approved, Deseret Industries was formed.

Later, Church President David O. McKay said of Deseret Industries: “The real purpose of the industries is to produce independence on the part of each individual, to make him self-supporting, to replace idleness with thrift and productivity. The Deseret Industries was established for the benefit of the individual.”⁴

Today the name “Deseret Industries” means a place where associates can get job training to become self-reliant and find new opportunities. It means a place where shoppers can get deals on anything from clothes to furniture and where donors can give their lightly-used items a second life.

1. Ether 2:3.

2. See “10 Facts about Honey Bees!” National Geographic Kids, accessed Aug. 6, 2018, natgeokids.com/za/discover/animals/insects/honey-bees/.

3. See Debbie Hadley, “15 Fascinating Facts about Honey Bees,” June 18, 2018, thoughtco.com/fascinating-facts-about-honey-bees-4165293.

4. David O. McKay, “The Silver Anniversary of Deseret Industries,” Improvement Era, Aug. 1963, 653.