Russell M. Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced on social media Friday that he is “slowly” returning to the office after two months of attending meetings of the faith’s governing First Presidency virtually.
The 99-year-old leader said he is currently coming into the office in downtown Salt Lake City on “selected days while continuing to use technology as needed.”
Nelson, a former surgeon, added: “Thank you for your prayers for me during the last two months. My recovery from my fall in September when I injured the muscles in my back has been rigorous. I have needed your prayers.”
The church’s longest-living prophet-president injured his back in a fall in early September. As a result, he was unable to attend in person the faith’s most recent General Conference, held the first weekend in October. He instead delivered a recorded address, in which he called on listeners to “think celestial,” a reference to the Latter-day Saint belief that the highest heaven is the Celestial Kingdom.
In May, Nelson said he had a “small challenge” with his balance from “time to time,” and that he sometimes used a walker or wheelchair.
“Your prayers have lifted my spirits and bolstered my courage and my great desire to soldier on,” he added in Friday’s post on X, formerly Twitter. “In short, the Lord has responded to your prayers and expressions of love, and he is helping me to heal.”
Nelson isn’t the only high-level church leader recuperating for health setbacks. Senior apostle M. Russell Ballard, who turned 95 on Oct. 8 recently was hospitalized for “respiratory issues,” and 82-year-old apostle Jeffrey R. Holland spent more than five weeks in the hospital about two months ago and reported undergoing kidney dialysis.
Latter-day Saint prophets and apostles serve for life.