Based on the writings of Ellen G. White, the role of a mother is portrayed as a sacred and foundational ministry, equivalent in importance to public missionary work. Her primary influence and responsibility begin in the home, which is considered her first and most vital mission field. ### The Mother as a Home Missionary Ellen White emphasizes that a mother's work in the home is a high and holy calling, directly impacting the church and the world. * **A Sacred Position:** She describes a mother's position as being of the utmost importance: "The position of a woman in her family is more sacred than that of the king upon his throne" (CTBH 77.4). * **Equal Importance to Public Ministry:** The work of a mother is not seen as secondary to that of a father who may be a public minister or missionary. "If married men go into the work, leaving their wives to care for the children at home, the wife and mother is doing fully as great and important a work as is the husband and father. While one is in the missionary field, the other is a home missionary, whose cares and anxieties and burdens frequently far exceed those of the husband and father" (GW 203.1). * **Missionaries in the Highest Sense:** By faithfully raising her children and managing her household, a mother is fulfilling a critical missionary function. "These women who are doing with ready willingness what their hands find to do, with cheerfulness of spirit aiding their husbands to bear their burdens, and training their children for God, are missionaries in the highest sense" (2T 465.2). ### The Home as the Foundation for Church Work The faithful execution of a mother's duties at home is what prepares her and her family for effective service in the church and community. * **Training Future Church Members:** A mother's "great work" is to shape the character of her children and train them for a life of usefulness and service to God. This is seen as her direct contribution to the future of the church (GW 203.1). * **Developing Fitness for Broader Work:** By managing her home well, a mother develops skills and a character that fit her for wider influence. "As you faithfully do your duty in the home, the father as a priest of the household, the mother as a home missionary, you are multiplying agencies for doing good outside of the home. As you improve your own powers, you are becoming better fitted to labor in the church and in the neighborhood" (7T 67.1). ### Warnings Against Distractions Ellen White cautions mothers against allowing worldly influences to distract them from their primary calling, as this neglect has serious consequences for the family and the church. * **Avoiding Gossip:** She directly links neighborhood gossip to church problems and urges mothers to focus on their own children instead. "Gossipers and news carriers are a terrible curse to neighborhoods and churches. Two thirds of all the church trials arise from this source... They will feel so great a burden of care for their own children that they can find no time to take up a reproach against their neighbor" (2T 465.2). * **Resisting Fashion:** Time and energy spent on fashion are seen as being stolen from the essential work of character formation. "Mothers sacrifice to fashion the God-given time which should be devoted to forming the character of their children" (CTBH 92.1). In summary, Ellen White's counsel positions the mother's role in the home not as a limitation, but as her most powerful and essential form of ministry. It is the foundation upon which the spiritual health of her family, the church, and the community is built.

Based on the writings of Ellen G. White, there are two prominent individuals named Hannah who are presented as significant examples for the church, each illustrating different but vital principles of faith and duty. ### 1. Hannah, the Mother of Samuel The biblical Hannah is portrayed as the ideal of a faithful mother whose devotion and consecration had a lasting impact on Israel. Her role was primarily centered on the family, but its influence was crucial for the church and the nation. * **A Woman of Fervent Prayer and Faith:** Hannah's story begins with her earnest prayer for a son, vowing to dedicate him to God's service. Ellen White highlights her piety and "lofty faith" (PP 569). When her prayer was answered, she fulfilled her vow, demonstrating profound faithfulness. * **Consecrating Her Child to God:** Hannah brought her "precious gift" to the priest Eli, stating, "For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of Him: therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord" (PP 571.1). This act is presented as the ultimate example of a mother's sacrifice and dedication. * **A Mother's Enduring Influence:** Even after leaving Samuel at the tabernacle, her role as a mother continued through prayer and care. She taught him from his earliest moments to see himself as the Lord's. Every year, she would make him a new robe, and "Every fiber of the little garment had been woven with a prayer that he might be pure, noble, and true" (PP 572.2). * **An Example for All Mothers:** Ellen White presents Hannah as a timeless model. She writes, "What a reward was Hannah's! and what an encouragement to faithfulness is her example! There are opportunities of inestimable worth, interests infinitely precious, committed to every mother... Let every mother go often to her Saviour with the prayer, 'Teach us, how shall we order the child, and what shall we do unto him?'" (PP 572.3). ### 2. Hannah More, the Missionary Ellen White also wrote extensively about a contemporary figure, Sister Hannah More, a dedicated missionary. Her story serves as a powerful and sobering lesson to the church about its responsibility to care for its workers. * **A Dedicated Missionary:** Sister More was a self-sacrificing missionary who had served in Central Africa. She embraced the Sabbath and, as a result, had to leave her former mission field, returning to America to find a home and work among fellow believers (1T 669.1). * **A Gift Neglected by the Church:** Despite her experience and dedication, the church largely neglected her. Ellen White saw this as a profound failure, stating, "God brought this gift among us to meet our present emergency; but we prized not the gift, and He took her from us" (3T 407.1). She lamented that the church's "sleepy and unconsecrated condition" led it to lose the "precious opportunities" God had sent in people like Hannah More (3T 407.1). * **A Martyr to Selfishness:** The neglect Sister More suffered had tragic consequences. Ellen White wrote pointedly after her death: "Sister Hannah More is dead, and died a martyr to the selfishness of a people who profess to be seeking for glory, honor, immortality, and eternal life... this self-sacrificing missionary died because no heart was bountiful enough to receive her" (2T 332.1). * **A Lesson for the Church:** Her case was used to issue a strong rebuke against the church's lack of compassion and its failure to support its members, especially dedicated laborers. Ellen White stated that "the neglect of her was the neglect of Jesus in her person" (2T 140). In summary, Ellen White presents two Hannahs: one (the mother of Samuel) as a model of **parental faithfulness and consecration within the home**, and the other (Hannah More) as a solemn reminder of the **church's corporate responsibility to support and care for its dedicated workers**.