James Emmett (February 22, 1803 – December 28, 1852) was an early AmericanLatter Day Saint and for a time claimed to be the rightful successor toJoseph Smith, the founder of theLatter Day Saint movement.
Emmett was born inBoone County, Kentucky. He was baptized into theChurch of Christ in 1831 and in August 1832 he moved toJackson County, Missouri to live with the gathering of Latter Day Saints there. He was amissionary for the church in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Missouri.
In 1843, Emmett was living inNauvoo, Illinois and was a bodyguard and close associate of Joseph Smith. In February 1844, Smith selected Emmett to explore the western United States and to select a location that the Latter Day Saints could settle in. Emmett was added to Smith'sCouncil of Fifty in March 1844.
WhenSmith was killed later in 1844, Emmett claimed that he had been empowered by Smith to lead the Latter Day Saints away from Nauvoo to a new settlement.Brigham Young and the other churchapostles attempted to convince Emmett that Young should lead the church, but Emmett gathered approximately 100 followers and the party made its way to present-dayVermillion, South Dakota. Young and the other apostles dropped Emmett from the ranks of the Council of Fifty in 1845.
By 1846, Emmett returned to Young and pledged to follow his leadership. In 1849, Emmett traveled toUtah Territory, but shortly thereafter he left the Latter Day Saint church and moved to Tuolumne County, California where he died.