Deseret Book Company

What Deseret Book Company does

Deseret Book Company is a privately held publisher and retailer headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, serving members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and broader values-based audiences. Founded in 1866 as the publishing arm of the LDS Church, the company operates as a wholly owned, profit-making subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, the Church's commercial holding entity. Its core offering is a vertically integrated content and merchandise platform: physical retail storefronts, the deseretbook.com e-commerce site, and the Deseret Bookshelf digital distribution platform (web, iOS, Android), which provides access to e-books, audiobooks, podcasts, and audiovisual content with a paid subscription tier (Deseret Bookshelf Plus) covering 4,000+ titles.

The product catalog spans scriptures in multiple bindings and languages, Church Distribution curriculum (Come Follow Me, General Conference resources, Primary, Relief Society, Youth, Self Reliance), Gospel Voices books in gospel teaching, inspiration, scripture reference, and help-and-hope genres, plus Shadow Mountain-branded general-market publishing. Beyond books, the company sells art, wall décor, temple worship accessories (recommend holders, bags, clothing), missionary supplies, jewelry, games and puzzles. Distribution channels are direct-to-consumer across physical retail, owned e-commerce (with free shipping on orders $49+ domestically and global digital storefront access), and digital content subscriptions.

Revenue mechanics combine one-time product sales (books, scriptures, merchandise) with recurring subscription revenue from Deseret Bookshelf Plus. The customer base is concentrated in the Latter-day Saint community across the United States, with limited international reach through the global e-commerce and digital storefronts. Operating scale is indicated by 501–1,000 employees, thousands of annual product submissions, and a multi-channel marketing mix spanning blog, email, social media (Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, YouTube), live events, and podcast/video content featuring LDS authors and artists.

Name

Deseret Book Company

Legal name

Deseret Book Company

Website

https://deseretbook.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Deseret Book Company is a privately held publisher and retailer serving the Latter-day Saint community with LDS-themed books, scriptures, art, music, and missionary supplies through physical stores, e-commerce, and the Deseret Bookshelf digital subscription platform, operating as a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Book Retail

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Sacred Texts & Scripture Publishing (Bibles, Qur’ans, Vedas, Torah, Sutras) (MPAJAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Religious & Spiritual Books Retail (CRALAAAE), Religious Education & Catechetical Publishing (Sunday School, Catechism, Study Guides) (MPAJAHAC), Religious Nonfiction & Theology Publishing (Apologetics, Doctrine, Ethics) (MPAJAHAG), Worship & Liturgy Publishing (Liturgical Texts, Missals, Service Books, Hymnals) (MPAJAHAE)

Keywords

• Religious book publishing
• Specialty retail stores
• Digital audiobook subscription
• Values-based publishing
• Religious merchandise retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Salt Lake City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Product Sales: Physical and e-commerce sales of books, DVDs, music, art, jewelry, missionary supplies, temple worship items, and other LDS-themed merchandise through retail stores and the deseretbook.com website.
2. Deseret Bookshelf Plus Digital Subscription: Monthly or annual subscription service providing access to a digital library of e-books, audiobooks, podcasts, and other audiovisual content. The subscription auto-renews unless cancelled and provides ongoing recurring revenue.
3. Publishing: Publishing revenue through Deseret Book and Shadow Mountain imprints. The company publishes books that reflect values held by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including gospel teaching, inspiration, scripture reference, and help and hope genres.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Deseret Book Company publishes and retails books, scriptures, music, art, DVDs, jewelry, missionary supplies, temple worship items, and other LDS-themed merchandise through physical retail stores and the deseretbook.com e-commerce platform. The company also distributes digital audiobooks, e-books, and podcasts via the Deseret Bookshelf web and mobile applications, including a paid subscription tier (Deseret Bookshelf Plus) offering access to 4000+ titles. Publishing is conducted under the Deseret Book and Shadow Mountain imprints.

Product overview

Deseret Book Company is both a publisher and retailer operating as a platform-plus-services model. The core offering includes physical retail stores and an online e-commerce platform selling books, scriptures, music, art, DVDs, games, and religious items for LDS families. Alongside physical products, the company operates two digital platforms: Deseret Bookshelf (a digital platform for e-books, audiobooks, and podcasts) and Deseret Bookshelf Plus (a subscription service providing unlimited access to 4000+ digital titles). Deseret Book also publishes through its Shadow Mountain imprint for general-market books. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Shadow Mountain: National imprint that publishes values-based, general-market books.
• Deseret Bookshelf
• Deseret Bookshelf Plus

Products and services

• Deseret Bookshelf
• Deseret Bookshelf Plus
• Shadow Mountain
• Scriptures
• Gospel Voices Books
• Church Resources
• Art & Wall Decor
• Missionary Supplies
• Temple Worship
• Games & Puzzles

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Deseret Management CorporationcoreOthersDeseret Book Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, the holding company for business firms owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Deseret Book is a profit-making Utah corporation that operates as part of the LDS Church's business holdings.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Christianbook.com (Christian Book Distributors): A large online and catalog retailer of Christian books, Bibles, music, gifts, and curriculum — comparable as a multi-channel religious content and merchandise retailer serving a defined faith audience, similar to Deseret Book's retail-plus-publishing model.
• LifeWay Christian Resources: Southern Baptist publishing and retail operation (books, Bibles, curriculum, church supplies) with stores, e-commerce, and digital content — directly comparable to Deseret Book's denomination-aligned publishing-plus-retail platform.
• HarperCollins Christian Publishing: Combines Thomas Nelson and Zondervan, two of the largest Christian book publishers in the U.S., producing trade, Bible, and curriculum titles — comparable as a major religious trade publisher serving both Christian retail and general trade channels.
• Tyndale House Publishers: Independent Christian publisher of Bibles, fiction, nonfiction, and children's titles (including the New Living Translation) — comparable as a faith-based book publisher with consumer-facing distribution, overlapping Deseret Book's core publishing activity.
• Baker Publishing Group: Publishes Christian books, Bibles, and academic/theological works across multiple imprints (Baker Books, Bethany House, Revell, Brazos) — comparable as a multi-imprint religious trade publisher with overlapping audience and distribution.
• Concordia Publishing House: Publishing arm of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, producing hymnals, curriculum, devotion, and Bibles for a defined Christian denomination — directly comparable as a denomination-aligned publisher-retailer with mission-driven product mix.
• Mardel: Christian retail chain selling books, Bibles, gifts, apparel, and curriculum in physical stores and online — comparable as a specialty religious retailer operating physical storefronts alongside e-commerce, similar to Deseret Book's retail footprint.
• Catholic Book Publishing Corp. Catholic-focused publisher of Bibles, missals, prayer books, and liturgical resources — directly comparable as a religious/sacred-texts publisher serving a denomination-specific audience.
• Gospel Publishing House (Assemblies of God): Publishing arm of the Assemblies of God denomination producing curriculum, devotionals, and trade titles — comparable as a denomination-aligned religious publisher-retailer with similar publishing scope.

Broad incumbents

• Audible (Amazon): Largest audiobook subscription platform globally with a vastly larger catalog than Deseret Bookshelf Plus — comparable as a digital subscription service competing for the same audiobook listening occasions of LDS readers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/deseretbook
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/DeseretBook
• Facebookfacebook.com/deseretbook
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/deseret-book
• Instagraminstagram.com/deseretbook

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Deseret Book Company