Elder W. Mark Bassett Remembered for His Faith in Jesus Christ

“We can do this!” taught Elder W. Mark Bassett in a recent general conference message — a theme reflected throughout his funeral service in North Salt Lake, Utah, on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. Family, friends, and Church leaders gathered to honor the General Authority Seventy, who died on May 11, 2026, at age 59.

Presided over by President D. Todd Christofferson, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, the service recounted Elder Bassett’s Christ-centered life, his love for his family, and his devoted global ministry.

“Elder Bassett’s life was a model of hard work and strength,” said a letter from the First Presidency to Elder Bassett’s wife, Angela, which was read aloud by Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “He demonstrated love for the Lord throughout his life as he spent time in selfless service to his family and his fellow man. He leaves a legacy of light, personal integrity, kindness and commitment to righteous living.”

Several members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and other General Authorities and General Officers were also in attendance.

Elder Bassett served in the Missionary Department beginning in 2019 and spent the last three years as its Executive Director. That focus on missionary work continues even in death, his son Taylor said. Noting that Doctrine and Covenants 138 describes the “faithful elders” as continuing their labors in the next life, Taylor said with humor that his father “has not been released from the Missionary Department.”

Reflecting on the unexpected nature of Elder Bassett’s death, Taylor said the family has lamented how unfair his passing seems. But, importantly, he said they have found comfort in a line from “Preach My Gospel,” the Church’s guide for missionary service.

“All that is unfair in life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ,” the guide says.

“[That is] the best line in the whole book,” Taylor said.

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Elder Bassett’s brother David expressed gratitude at recently meeting so many of the missionaries who served under Elder and Sister Bassett when they presided over the Arizona Mesa Mission from 2007 to 2010.

David also shared family and missionary experiences, noting how Elder Bassett taught by example to follow living prophets, consecrate time and health, choose joy, and remember that “things are just things.”

He spoke about his brother’s death in the context of the plan of salvation. Reading one New Testament prophet’s question, “O death, where is thy sting?” David responded, pointing to his heart, “I can tell you where it is — right here. And it hurts.” And then he read these consoling words from the Book of Mormon: “But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.”

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In his remarks to close the service, President Christofferson added his own apostolic witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and of the Lord’s care for Elder Bassett’s family — including his father, Lynn, whose wife passed away just a few months ago.

“It has happened often, but it still seems unnatural for a parent to bury a child,” President Christofferson said. “Brother Lynn, we invoke a special blessing of love and comfort on you in this moment.”

President Christofferson said his first assignment with Elder Bassett came when the latter was serving as an Area Seventy in California.

Elder Bassett, who was owner and CFO of West Coast Auto Auctions, Inc., “taught me many of the mysteries of auto auction that I had never known,” President Christofferson said with a smile. “I have admired him ever since and been blessed by every association, every contact and interaction we’ve had together.”

President Christofferson used part of his time to “permit [Elder Bassett] to say something.” He did this by quoting from the latter’s April 2023 general conference address, which used the fourth day in the New Testament story of Lazarus to teach that the Savior’s help may seem delayed but is never absent.

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“As we strive to act righteously by making and keeping sacred covenants and applying the doctrine of Christ in our lives, our faith will not only be sufficient to carry us to the fourth day, but with the Lord’s help we will also be capable of moving stones that are in our path, arising from despair, and loosening ourselves of all that binds us,” Elder Bassett said. “While the Lord expects us to ‘do all things that lie in our power,’ remember that He will provide needed help in all these things as we trust in Him.”

April 2023 General Conference After the Fourth Day

“That is the voice of experience, the voice of faith, the voice of one who has proved his faith,” President Christofferson added.

The Second Counselor in the First Presidency also reflected on the important service Elder Bassett has been called to in the next life.

“Mark’s death took us all by surprise,” he said. “In many ways, he was so on time that it is hard to imagine he would be needed more anywhere than here. But I believe it’s so.”

President Christofferson also reminded the audience of these words from President Dallin H. Oaks at the April 2026 general conference.

April 2026 General Conference Alive in Christ

“I wonder if we fully appreciate the enormous significance of this belief in a literal, universal resurrection,” President Oaks said. “The conviction that death is not the conclusion of our identity changes the whole perspective of our mortal life. It affects how we look on the physical challenges of mortality. It gives us the strength and perspective to endure the mortal challenges faced by each of us and by those we love. It signifies that mortal deficiencies are only temporary! It also gives us the courage to face our own death or that of loved ones — even deaths we might call premature.”

“I invoke upon you the Lord’s most tender blessings — comfort and peace in lonely moments, that sweet reassurance of a happy reunion,” President Christofferson said.