"Our concern is to take care of people who are in need (or) help them in their distress," he said.

President Hinckley also responded to questions on several other topics, including:

• Getting on with life after the April death of Marjorie Pay Hinckley, his wife of nearly 67 years: "(It) feels pretty lonely at times. . . . I miss her so much. She was a great lady. . . .You never get over it; of course you don't. The best thing you can do is just keep busy, and working hard."

• The war in Iraq: "We believe in peace. We work for peace. We pray for peace, but we are all citizens of the nation, and we meet that responsibility as that responsibility is defined by our leadership in the nation."

• The war on terror: "I see (terrorism) . . .as the work of a group of misguided (men) . . .not representative of the great body of the Muslim people across the world."

• On civil unions as an alternative to gay marriage, which the church opposes: The church does not favor anything that might lead to allowing gay marriage, President Hinckley said. "We're not anti-gay, we're pro-family. Let me put it that way. We love these people and try to work with them. We know they have a problem; we want to help them solve that problem . . . and bless their lives."

• Women are not lesser than men; having a black prophet would be "within the realm of possibility." As for women working outside the home, "I think we're paying the price for it in family life."

• A personal note: "I've been blessed so abundantly, I can never get over it," President Hinckley said. "I . . .want to extend that to others."

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E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com