President Gordon B. Hinckley praised members of an association of LDS mental health professionals for having testimonies of the gospel and for couching their professional wisdom in the doctrines of the Church.

The prophet on Sept. 28 received the Distinguished Service to Humanity Award from the Association of Mormon Counselors and Psychotherapists.Observing its 20th anniversary at an annual conference in Salt Lake City, the group held a dinner at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. At an awards presentation after the dinner, President Hinckley was honored. Receiving other awards were prominent LDS professionals Stephen R. Covey, Dean R. Byrd, Anne L. Horton, L. Alan Westover, Janet Vincent and Duane Laws.

"Sitting where I sit, I think I see a good deal of the problems with which you deal," President Hinckley remarked in an extemporaneous response.

"I'm amazed at the amount of difficulty through which so many people walk."

He lamented the frequency with which marriages "go sour." "Selfishness, in so many cases, I'm satisfied, is at the root of it," he said. "There are other reasons, of course, and you are familiar with all of those. You deal with them every day in your professional work. I'm glad and I'm very grateful that you do it in the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm grateful to know that every man and woman in this hall tonight has a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and loves this Church, which is His Church, and seeks to couch his or her professional wisdom in the environment of the doctrines of this Church."

Acknowledging the difficulty of their work, he said: "I commend you as healers. The Master was the great healer, and I have great respect, almost reverence, for those who heal and bring peace and fullness of life and understanding to those who, for one reason or another, might be denied it. I think I know the meaning of love and the power of love. I have seen it, and I have seen its opposite in so many cases."

President Hinckley said he wishes with all his heart the syndrome of domestic abuse could be rooted out. "Anger is such a corrosive, terrible thing that destroys families and brings heartbreak and heartache and fear."

Earlier in the program, 12-year-old D. J. Gray, the son of association members Dan and Becky Gray, performed a song he had written,"He Is a Man, He Is a Prophet," expressing his love for President Hinckley and his testimony of the prophet's divine calling. Early into the song, he was overcome with emotion, but finished it through his tears. He then spontaneously embraced President Hinckley. Many in the audience could be seen wiping their eyes after the performance.

D. J. was embraced by the prophet's wife, Marjorie P. Hinckley, and again by President Hinckley as the couple left the hall following his address.

In welcoming remarks, association president Wendy Ulrich said: "For 20 years this organization has provided a meeting ground for LDS mental health professionals, chaplains, LDS Social Services personnel and lay counselors such as bishops and students preparing for mental health professions. Currently there are about 700 members throughout the United States and several foreign countries."

The organization's goal, she said, "has been to provide mutual support within a context of common commitment to the healing principles and promises of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our common bond, our shared strength derives from our conscious adherence to the principles and standards of the Church in both our personal lives and professional practice."