Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints come from throughout the world to hear their leaders and to meet old friends during the semi-annual October general conference, but two of the most important church figures will be absent this year.

On Thursday, it was announced that President Russell M. Nelson, who turned 99 on Sept. 9, fell three weeks ago and hurt the muscles in his lower back. The injury will mean he won’t attend the conference sessions in person, but will watch them unfold remotely.

“This episode has reminded me of the reality that things sometimes change quickly in our lives,” Nelson wrote in a message shared to church members. The accident happened two days after his birthday.

“Thankfully, my healing is progressing, but as my physician says, ‘we don’t have much data on how 99-year-olds recover from an injury like this one, so I am prescribing a slow, careful approach to healing so that you achieve a full recovery.’ Having prescribed just such a course of action for many of my own patients years ago, I feel duty-bound to follow doctor’s orders,” Nelson continued.

Nelson said he is still not able to sit for long periods of time. Rather than speaking directly to the assembled faithful inside the church’s Conference Center in Salt Lake City, he plans to record his general conference message and said he looks forward to participating in the conference through technology.

Meanwhile, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland continues to recuperate from his recent health challenges. He will watch sessions of conference from home.

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