Hannah Again...1 Samuel 1

Woodland Meadow by Hans Thoma

I'd like to revisit a situation from 1 Samuel. Eli watched the unusual actions of Hannah and though “she had been drunken” 1 Samuel 1:13. Am I ever guilty of judging people without knowing the whole story as Eli? In my book club in Seattle, there is a dear, sweet lady, Marilyn Judd. She is so quick to give the benefit of a doubt. Once we were talking about poor drivers. She told us she always imagines that the driver that speeds or cuts someone off is going to the hospital to visit a sick spouse or another similar scenario. This really hit home with me, because only a few months previous to this conversation, Joseph and I raced down Seattle freeways, weaving in and out of traffic to Harbor View Hospital and Trauma Center. Marilyn just might have the right idea. Now when some one's actions or appearance are not what might be considered socially acceptable, I try to apply Marilyn's wisdom. It's made all the difference.

President Hugh B. Brown said, “If I make errors [in judging people,] I want them to be on the side of mercy” (Hugh B. Brown: His Life and Thought, 225).

The study of Hannah left me with another thought. Hannah was in the house of God, when she made her promise to the Lord 1 Samuel 1:9–11. I've found that going to church and the temple regularly helps me with my worries and troubles.

Over the internet, I mentor women from all around the world in mothering and education. It's not that I think I'm especially wise or anything. However, I've been through what they are attempting and can offer advice based on experience and study. I wrote this yesterday about one thing that plagued me as a young mother. Like Hannah I prayed and received answers about this thing in God's House.

"I have a confession; I am a recovering yeller. I've been yell free (usually) for several years. I sometimes need to call my sponsor (God), when I get tempted to fall off the wagon. My sponsor taught me one thing, I have total control over whether I choose to yell or not. I was brainwashed by the victim mentality of our society into thinking that external forces like PMS, lack of sleep, illness, an inborn "bad" temper, misbehaving children, rude people, mean teens, thoughtless husband, or hypoglycemia were the causes of my yelling. My 7-step program (daily~alone~scripture reading, church attendance, temple attendance, intentional service, and constant contact with my sponsor) taught me that I must rely on my inner-strength, free agency, and the constant prayer in my heart to choose to avoid yelling. So I'm mostly yell-free but always on my guard to keep from indulging in this bad habit that almost ruined my life.~Tongue in cheek---but also spot on."

Elder John A. Widtsoe said: “I believe that the busy person … who has his worries and troubles, can solve his problems better and more quickly in the house of the Lord than anywhere else…a blessing will come to him, for at the most unexpected moments, in or out of the temple will come to him, as a revelation, the solution of the problems that vex his life. That is the gift that comes to those who enter the temple properly” (quoted by David B. Haight, Ensign, Nov. 1990, 61).