Chapter 11
King Noah rules in wickedness—He revels in riotous living with his wives and concubines—Abinadi prophesies that the people will be taken into bondage—His life is sought by King Noah. About 160–150 B.C.
1 AND now it came to pass that Zeniff conferred the kingdom upon Noah, one of his sons; therefore Noah began to reign in his stead; and he did not walk in the ways of his father.
2 For behold, he did not keep the commandments of God, but he did walk after the desires of his own heart. And he had many wives and concubines [A woman who cohabits with a man without being legally married to him; A woman who cohabits with a man without being legally married to him - Free Dictionary, accessed June 7, 2011]. And he did because his people to commit sin, and do that which was abominable in the sight of the Lord. Yea, and they did commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness.
3 And he laid a tax of one fifth part of all they possessed, a fifth part of their gold and of their silver, and a fifth part of their ziff [HEB related words: adjective, "shining"; verb, "to overlay or plate with metal], and of their copper, and of their brass and their iron; and a fifth part of their fatlings; and also a fifth part of all their grain.
4 And all this did he take to support himself, and his wives and his concubines; and also his priests, and their wives and their concubines; thus he had changed the affairs of the kingdom.
5 For he put down all the priests that had been consecrated by his father, and consecrated new ones in their stead, such as were lifted up in the pride of their hearts.
6 Yea, and thus they were supported in their laziness, and in their idolatry, and in their whoredoms, by the taxes which king Noah had put upon his people; thus did the people labor exceedingly to support iniquity.
7 Yea, and they also became idolatrous, because they were deceived by the vain and flattering words of the king and priests; for they did speak flattering things unto them.
Mosiah 11:1-7 (Emphasis mine)
Things changed after Zeniff's death. Noah took over and got rid of his father's priests and selected his own; he "walked after the desires of his heart." He levied a 20% tax on his people to support his lavish lifestyle and well as the lifestyle of his "priests." Noah and company were lazy, worthless people, living off the labor of his subjects. Of course, like all tyrants, he didn't care.
This lifestyle was in contrast to that of the noble King Benjamin. As the beginning of his great sermon, he said:
12 I say unto you that as I have been suffered to spend my days in your service, even up to this time, and have not sought gold nor silver nor any manner of riches of you;
13 Neither have I suffered that ye should be confined in dungeons, nor that ye should make slaves one of another, nor that ye should murder, or plunder, or steal, or commit adultery; nor even have I suffered that ye should commit any manner of wickedness, and have taught you that ye should keep the commandments of the Lord, in all things which he hath commanded you—
14 And even I, myself, have labored with mine own hands that I might serve you, and that ye should not be laden with taxes, and that there should nothing come upon you which was grievous to be borne—and of all these things which I have spoken, ye yourselves are witnesses this day.
15 Yet, my brethren, I have not done these things that I might boast, neither do I tell these things that thereby I might accuse you; but I tell you these things that ye may know that I can answer a clear conscience before God this day.
16 Behold, I say unto you that because I said unto you that I had spent my days in your service, I do not desire to boast, for I have only been in the service of God.
17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.
13 Neither have I suffered that ye should be confined in dungeons, nor that ye should make slaves one of another, nor that ye should murder, or plunder, or steal, or commit adultery; nor even have I suffered that ye should commit any manner of wickedness, and have taught you that ye should keep the commandments of the Lord, in all things which he hath commanded you—
14 And even I, myself, have labored with mine own hands that I might serve you, and that ye should not be laden with taxes, and that there should nothing come upon you which was grievous to be borne—and of all these things which I have spoken, ye yourselves are witnesses this day.
15 Yet, my brethren, I have not done these things that I might boast, neither do I tell these things that thereby I might accuse you; but I tell you these things that ye may know that I can answer a clear conscience before God this day.
16 Behold, I say unto you that because I said unto you that I had spent my days in your service, I do not desire to boast, for I have only been in the service of God.
17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.
Mosiah 2:12-17 (Emphasis mine)
It would be wonderful to have more leaders today with the commitment and spirit of King Benjamin today.
His son, Mosiah(2), who became King served in the same spirit as did his father.
6 And it came to pass that king Mosiah did walk in the ways of the Lord, and did observe his judgments and his statutes, and did keep his commandments in all things whatsoever he commanded him.
7 And king Mosiah did cause his people that they should till the earth. And he also, himself, did till the earth, that thereby he might not become burdensome to his people, that he might do according to that which his father had done in all things. And there was no contention among all his people for the space of three years.
7 And king Mosiah did cause his people that they should till the earth. And he also, himself, did till the earth, that thereby he might not become burdensome to his people, that he might do according to that which his father had done in all things. And there was no contention among all his people for the space of three years.
Mosiah 6:6-7 (Emphasis mine)
Noah's actions, causing the people to live in sin (see v7), was a problem throughout Jewish history.
16 And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.
1 Kings 14:16 (Emphasis mine)
25 ¶ And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years.
26 And , and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.
26 And , and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.
1 Kings 15:25 - 26 (Emphasis mine)
20 And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD.
21 Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel,
22 And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin.
21 Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel,
22 And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin.
1 Kings 21:20-22 (Emphasis mine)
Replacing his father's priests is similar to Jeroboam's actions.
31 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.
1 Kings 12:31 (Emphasis mine)
13 ¶ And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their coasts.
14 For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest's office unto the LORD:
15 And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.
14 For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest's office unto the LORD:
15 And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.
2 Chronicles 11:13-15 (Emphasis mine)
To become so depraved a society in such a short period of time, Noah must have been. secretly, a wicked man. I am convinced that Zeniff would not have put a wicked son on the throne.
So, in a very short period (we're probably looking at a period of no more than ten years from the time Noah became king), the Nephites went from a righteous people to a wicked society, not following the commandments of the Lord.
8 And it came to pass that king Noah built many elegant and spacious buildings; and he ornamented them with fine work of wood, and of all manner of precious things, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of brass, and of ziff, and of copper;
9 And he also built him a spacious palace, and a throne in the midst thereof, all of which was of fine wood and was ornamented with gold and silver and with precious things.
10 And he also caused that his workmen should work all manner of fine work within the walls of the temple, of fine wood, and of copper, and of brass.
11 And the seats which were set apart for the high priests, which were above all the other seats, he did ornament with pure gold; and he caused a breastwork to be built before them, that they might rest their bodies and their arms upon while they should speak lying and vain words to his people.
12 And it came to pass that he built a tower near the temple; yea, a very high tower, even so high that he could stand upon the top thereof and overlook the land of Shilom, and also the land of Shemlon, which was possessed by the Lamanites; and he could even look over all the land round about.
13 And it came to pass that he caused many buildings to be built in the land Shilom; and he caused a great tower to be built on the hill north of the land Shilom, which had been a resort for the children of Nephi at the time they fled out of the land; and thus he did do with the riches which he obtained by the taxation of his people.
9 And he also built him a spacious palace, and a throne in the midst thereof, all of which was of fine wood and was ornamented with gold and silver and with precious things.
10 And he also caused that his workmen should work all manner of fine work within the walls of the temple, of fine wood, and of copper, and of brass.
11 And the seats which were set apart for the high priests, which were above all the other seats, he did ornament with pure gold; and he caused a breastwork to be built before them, that they might rest their bodies and their arms upon while they should speak lying and vain words to his people.
12 And it came to pass that he built a tower near the temple; yea, a very high tower, even so high that he could stand upon the top thereof and overlook the land of Shilom, and also the land of Shemlon, which was possessed by the Lamanites; and he could even look over all the land round about.
13 And it came to pass that he caused many buildings to be built in the land Shilom; and he caused a great tower to be built on the hill north of the land Shilom, which had been a resort for the children of Nephi at the time they fled out of the land; and thus he did do with the riches which he obtained by the taxation of his people.
Mosiah 11:8-13 (Emphasis mine)
(Interesting Book of Mormon note. When Noah built in tower in Shilom, he built it at a place "which had been a resort for the children of Nephi at the time they fled out of the land." (v13) This is the first time I've caught this mention of a resort.There are two other references to resort in Alma (45:5,8 & 52:6). Any other mention is as a verb instead of the noun. I have always thought of a resort (noun) as a vacation destination, somewhere you go to have a good time. I never thought of the Nephites as having a recreation destination for their people, so I looked it up in the dictionary. I learned an additional definition - "a place ... frequented by many people." So in the context of of v13, and the references in Alma, would be a meeting place for the people.)
King Noah obviously wanted as showy a kingdom as he could possibly have. Much of the taxes collected went to build the luxurious buildings. But, he didn't stop at buildings. He made himself a grand throne and seats for his priests that would be the height of luxury today.
In the April 1999 General Conference, Elder Joe J. Christensen said:
"When it comes to overcoming being greedy, selfish, and overly indulgent, we all need a lot more help. In his candid manner, President Brigham Young said: 'The worst fear … I have about this people is that they will get rich in this country, forget God and His people, wax fat, and kick themselves out of the Church. … My greater fear … is that they cannot stand wealth.' Our prosperity brings some real challenges because many are getting rich, more of us are waxing fat, and as a result of greed, selfishness, and overindulgence, we could lose the Spirit and literally kick ourselves out of the Church. Money and material things are on the minds of almost everyone. As Morris Chalfant wrote: 'The great [question] of the twentieth century is, "How can I acquire wealth?" No question occupies a larger place in the minds and … hearts of … people today than this. … This is true of men in every station and in every walk of life.' Money in and of itself is not an evil, but as Paul taught Timothy, it is the love of money that is the root of all evil. There are some of the wealthy who deal with their prosperity very well using their resources to bless others and build the kingdom. For many, however, wealth presents major difficulties." (Emphasis mine)
In the April 2004 General Conference, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said:
"We have earthly debts and heavenly debts. Let us be wise in dealing with each of them and ever keep in mind the words of the Savior. The scriptures tell us, 'Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.' The riches of this world are as dust compared to the riches that await the faithful in the mansions of our Heavenly Father. How foolish is he who spends his days in the pursuit of things that rust and fade away. How wise is he who spends his days in the pursuit of eternal life." (Emphasis mine)
In the April 2002 General Conference, Elder John M. Madsen said:
"Almost 2,000 years ago, a rich young man asked an extremely important question of the Savior: 'Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?' (Matt. 19:16).
Having 'heard' the Savior’s instructions and His gentle invitation to 'come and follow me' (Matt. 19:21), the rich young man 'went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions' (Matt. 19:22). Tragically, millions in the world today still prize and choose 'the riches of the earth' over the 'riches of eternity' (D&C 38:39), not knowing or fully understanding that 'he that hath eternal life is rich' (D&C 6:7; emphasis added), and that eternal life is God’s greatest gift to man (see D&C 14:7). " (Additional emphasis mine)
King Noah ignored the Lord and sought after the riches of this world. In the end, as we will see, he will have to account for his wickedness.
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