Her Countenance Was No More Sad

When Hannah came to Shiloh to the house of the Lord, “She was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore.” She was mourning because she had no children, and “she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.” As she was praying, making this solemn promise to the Lord, she was watched by the priest Eli who “sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord.” He observed her and “as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth. Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard.” So she prayed there silently but with her lips moving, pouring out her soul to God as she yearned for the blessing of children from Him. Eli, with very little in the way of spiritual discernment, woefully misunderstood what was happening and “Eli thought she had been drunken.” So, totally insensitive to Hannah’s true feelings and what was going on, he said to her, “How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.” It struck me yesterday as we discussed this story in gospel doctrine that the way Hannah responded to him contains a powerful lesson to us about choosing not to be offended. Here she was pleading with all her heart to the Lord, and the Lord’s servant was so clueless that he thought she was just a drunken lady there. She could have chosen to be deeply offended by this, but instead she responded with great reverence: “No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto” (1 Samuel 1:10-16). What a humble reply! She choose not to be insulted by his misjudgment of her and instead simply described her grief and purpose in being there. Her example is a powerful reminder that we can choose not to be offended even when we are terribly misjudged or wrongly accused.

                 A related lesson from this story about Hannah is that the Lord will bless us when we try to honor His imperfect servants. Even though Eli was lacking in his spiritual capacities and his actions were not all pleasing to the Lord, Hannah was greatly blessed by respecting and honoring him as a servant of God. After she explained herself, Eli replied, “Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.” What she did shows the great faith she had in the Lord and His servants: “And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad” (1 Samuel 1:17-18). She believed the words of Eli to such an extent that she wasn’t sad anymore. She was confident that her petition to the Lord would be granted because a priest confirmed it would be. She could have said in her heart, “Well, if he can’t discern between a woman praying and a woman who is drunk, surely he can’t know if the Lord will grant my prayer.” But she didn’t and simply showed respect for the Lord’s anointed and trusted in his calling as a priest and ability to speak for the Lord. And, of course, Eli’s promise was inspired, for Hannah’s request was granted with the birth of Samuel. She was greatly blessed because she chose to trust and honor and not be offended by a servant of the Lord. Elder Bednar once gave a talk in which he described how he had visited with hundreds of “less-active” members of the Church who often described how they had at some point taken offense and stopped participating. Elder Bednar summarized how he would typically reply, “And then I would say something like this: ‘Let me make sure I understand what has happened to you. Because someone at church offended you, you have not been blessed by the ordinance of the sacrament. You have withdrawn yourself from the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. Because someone at church offended you, you have cut yourself off from priesthood ordinances and the holy temple. You have discontinued your opportunity to serve others and to learn and grow. And you are leaving barriers that will impede the spiritual progress of your children, your children’s children, and the generations that will follow.’” Hannah, on the other hand, chose not to be offended when she could have made that choice, and her faith and trust in the Lord despite her difficult circumstances still inspire many today.