Mosiah 11:1-9

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.  And he did cause 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, 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.

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.

Mosiah 11:1-9

Zeniff has passed the kingship to his son, Noah.  Even though we don’t know anything about the alternatives, we can still say that Noah was a disastrous choice.  Zeniff may not have been the greatest leader and made mistakes, but this one was a doozy!

However, as we will see, Noah’s rule (especially the selection of priests) will lead to major changes in the religious organization among the Nephites.

Mormon, resuming his abridgment of the Book of Mormon tells us, “[Noah] did not walk in the ways of his father … he walked after the desires of his own heart.”  He had many wives and concubines.  He caused the people to commit all manner of sins, including whoredoms, which are repugnant sins in the eyes of the Lord.

In the history of Israel, a king causing his people to sin was a common occurrence.  For example,

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 he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.

1 Kings 15:25-26

The prophet Ahijah went before the king of Israel and told him, “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).  Describing king Noah, Mosiah said, “Yea, remember king Noah, his wickedness and his abominations, and also the wickedness and abominations of his people.  Behold what great destruction did come upon them; and also because of their iniquities they were brought into bondage” (Mosiah 29:18).

In telling the people about the concerns of a king, Mosiah told them, “For behold I say unto you, the sins of many people have been caused by the iniquities of their kings; therefore their iniquities are answered upon the heads of their kings” (Mosiah 29:31).

It was Nephite tradition a king supported himself.  Benjamin emphasizes he worked to provide for his and his family’s needs (see Mosiah 2:14).  Mosiah₂ worked to take care of his family, following his father’s example.  Noah, on the other hand, decided the people should support him.  He followed Pharaoh’s example with his tax rate (see Genesis 47:24).  The people were required to pay a 20% tax, which was apparently unheard of at that time.  This was required of all their possessions; their gold, silver, copper, and ziff (a footnote in the Book of Mormon tell us “Ziff - HEB related words: adjective, "shining"; verb, "to overlay or plate with metal.”  They also paid on the animals and grains.  Noah failed to follow Solomon’s advice, “Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance” (Proverbs 29:3).

Noah was apparently the head of the local church.  One of the first things he did was to get rid of his father’s priests and replaced them with his choices.  They were just like Noah.  They were lazy, wicked, and lived off the taxes of the people. 

Under the leadership of Noah’s priests, they people became an idolatrous people.  Noah spent the tax money he collected not on the people, but rather on luxurious buildings.  They were adorned with wood and precious metals.  He also built a huge palace and fancy throne.