Heman (Herman) A. Bassett

(ca. 1814–76)

Heman (Herman) Bassett was born in Vermont. He was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and ordained an elder in Ohio by January 1831. He served a mission in northern Ohio in early 1831. Bassett was one of the elders manifesting unusual spiritual gifts prior to Joseph Smith’s arrival in Ohio, and in June 1831, the title of elder was taken from him and given to Simonds Ryder (Doctrine and Covenants 52:37). By May he reportedly denounced the Church. He married a woman named Mary by 1835. The same year, he moved to Gallatin Township, Missouri, and by 1840 he moved to Quincy, Illinois. He briefly affiliated with James J. Strang’s Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in New York City in 1849. By 1853, he migrated to Utah Territory, but he left there by 1860.

References in the Doctrine and Covenants

Doctrine and Covenants 52

Additional Information

Biographical facts and sources, The Joseph Smith Papers

Revelations In Context

• Religious Enthusiasm among Early Ohio Converts