Though it's the primary language of the United States, English is notoriously difficult to learn. And despite having fewer native speakers than both Mandarin and Spanish, it's the most widely spoken language in the entire world—which means lots of people have had to learn it. It's a challenging task for all who undertake it, and that was the problem Brigham Young hoped to solve when he ordered that the board of regents at the University of Deseret (now the University of Utah) create a new alphabet.
