India, May 12 -- Elder W. Mark Bassett, who served as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, passed away on Monday, May 11, following a traumatic brain injury. The 59-year-old Church leader was with his family in St. George, Utah, at the time of the tragic event.

" We are deeply saddened at the sudden passing of Elder W. Mark Bassett, a General Authority Seventy who had been serving since April of 2016," the church said in a statement. "Elder Bassett passed away on May 11, 2026, as a result of a traumatic brain injury. He was with his family in St. George, Utah, when the incident occurred."

At the time of his passing, Bassett was in charge of the church's worldwide missionary initiatives during a...