W Mark Bassett Dies at 59 After Traumatic Brain Injury

W Mark Bassett died on May 11, 2026, after a traumatic brain injury in St. George, Utah. He was 59 and was with his family when the incident occurred.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Bassett was serving as a General Authority Seventy and as Executive Director of the Missionary Department at the time of his death. He had held that calling since April of 2016 and was overseeing worldwide missionary efforts.

Missionary Work In Provo

Just days before his death, Bassett spoke at a devotional for missionaries at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. There he told missionaries, "Invite everyone to come – and do everything you can to help them enter this beautiful gate which leads to eternal life."

The church said his service coincided with historic growth in missionary efforts around the world and unprecedented levels of missionaries deciding to serve. That puts his death at the center of ongoing missionary leadership at a time when that work was already expanding.

Church Statement On Bassett

The church said Bassett will be deeply missed and always remembered for his great faith and dedicated service to the Lord Jesus Christ. It said its love and prayers are with his wife Angela, his children, and his grandchildren.

For members and missionaries working under his department, the immediate change is leadership absence at a role tied to worldwide missionary coordination. The church has not said in the statement who will take over those responsibilities.