Mosiah 11:1-19 - How King Noah changed the kingdom
Here is our introduction to one of Zeniff’s sons, the one that apparently he believed would be the best to reign in his stead after he passed. There are only a few excerpts from some of the Sunday School manuals about this chapter and only like 2 general conference talks that address it at all, so there’s going to be a lot of speculation on my part here.
11:1-19 – As the story goes, Noah, the new king “did not walk in the ways of his father.” The Book of Mormon GDM suggests making a list of ways that King Noah differed from his father and ways that he changed the affairs of the kingdom. So let’s do that.
1. He personally did not keep the commandments of God. The IM teaches why this is an important aspect, and the pivotal reason for the beginning of the fall, “Mormon vividly described the wickedness of King Noah. Later, Mosiah used the example of King Noah as the primary reason to eliminate government by kings: ‘How much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction! Yea, remember king Noah.’ King Noah’s complete selfishness in seeking the desires of the flesh stands as a warning to modern readers of the fate of such individuals.”
2. Had many wives and girlfriends, committed whoredoms. Jacob talks extensively about why the sin of immorality is so exceptionally terrible. It is the objectifying of women, which thing the Lord abhors, it is the opposite of self-mastery, it’s a life style enslaved by instant gratification, and it mocks the family as I’m sure king Noah had many many children, and that he cared very poorly for them, just like selfish people do. The other point that I think is important to note is that the world maintains a pretty standard balance of 50/50 male to female, statistically, unless there is some crazy war or something. So for King Noah and his priests to hoard so many women, probably meant that there were many men without wives, many children without a participating father, and many hearts broken.
3. Set a 20% tax on his people. Now this is coming from a king who I assume, like King Benjamin, labored with his own hands for his support, and probably had little to no taxation. Now I’m not going to sit here and say that all taxation is bad, because I honestly can’t see how even a stable, responsible government could function without some kind of taxation, and as citizens of such a nation, it’s our privilege to pay it, in order to enjoy schools, roads, judicial systems, etc. Those require some sort of federal management and costs money that should be paid by all those who enjoy it. But 20% is excessive, ask me how I know, now I said that I’m not going to get political here, but my tax rate is ridiculous, and sometimes I think “how can I as a single mom give so very much to the government?” So needless to say that king Noah and his government were very poor stewards of the people’s resources.
4. Used the taxed goods to support himself and his “friends” so that they didn’t have to work. This goes back to the concept that we discussed yesterday of work being an eternal principle. It’s very difficult to thrive, and it goes against gospel teaching to be lazy. The concept of something for nothing is not an eternal truth, and works against us as developing people. Yes, I can’t believe that I’m saying this, after what I just said yesterday.
5. Traded the faithful righteous priests (and advisors, I would assume) for wicked priests that told him what he wanted to hear. What this reminds me of is what we talked about yesterday and how, if Laman had been isolated in his craziness, then the outcomes would have been very different. King Noah surrounded himself with those who were even worse than he was, because some of the stuff that they did later is outrageous. And even when it came to Abinadi, king Noah was almost convinced to let him go, but his priests stirred him up again to put Abinadi to death. So by surrounding himself with wicked people, they easily just spiraled out of control until they ended up killing the prophet of the Lord.
6. Taught and had his priests teach the people, not the commandments of God, but “vain and flattering words.” Again, going back to Mosiah’s teaching that wicked kings make wicked people, and what we heard yesterday about people usually being just one generation from complete apostasy, having righteous teachers is so crucial to not only individual salvation, but also the salvation of entire nations. I remember we talked about some time ago, how our own individual righteous teachers have influenced our lives and how they have been influential in helping us make good choices. A complete abandonment of gospel teaching, coupled with the leadership preaching a hedonistic lifestyle is a recipe for all those who are not completely converted and maybe even some that are, to turn tail from the gospel and fully embrace straight madness. On my way back from the gym, I had the thought about how wicked teachers can warp the minds of those, even those fully committed to God. Several years ago, I started on a business venture with my brother and then husband. One of the things that the leadership that was supposedly making tons of money taught heavily, was that you couldn't be successful and you weren't fully committed to your business if you had a regular job that cared for your family while you were building your business. And this was preached so heavily, and in my gut, I knew that it was wrong, and that those who were quitting their jobs were making bad choices for their family, but it was taught so heavily and so convincingly that I came to despise my job, that it was holding me back from true success, and guess how well that went over with my attitude at work. And then when the market crashed and the truth came out that they were all bankrupt and hadn't been making any money for months, I was so grateful that God had let me have my little tantrum but still blessed me and my family with financial stability.
7. Used the taxed goods to build large, beautiful, probably useless, buildings, this took the resources of wood, gold, etc. away from the people who could have used it to be prosperous, and took the time for the craftsman to build the buildings when they could have been tending to their own farms, houses, and families. So basically he hoarded precious materials and people’s precious time for himself, and I’m confident that those buildings weren’t for the use of all his people, even the ones who worked on them and sacrificed for them. There is a responsibility of those in government to use the taxes collected in a responsible way. I’m not going to get political here, but there is something that is so dehumanizing when what you have worked so very hard for is simply taken and throw away. My favorite thing that he did here was make “a breastwork… that they might rest their bodies and their arms upon while they should speak lying and vain words to his people.” It’s interesting to me that Mormon spent effort making this such a detailed part of the story, he must have been uber disgusted with this aspect.
8. Worked “all manner of fine work within the walls of the temple, of fine wood, and of copper, and of brass.” At first this doesn’t seem so bad, like why is this a big deal, but let’s look for a second why this would be a negative. First off, like I tell my kids, who’s the richest person in the world? That’s right, Jesus. The beauty of the temple isn’t in the elaborate decorations, the beauty is in the Spirit of God that dwells there, it’s the symbolism; it’s the peace that is felt there. Temples are beautiful structures, but they aren’t obscene, and honestly if God wanted a basement corner storage room to be dedicated as a temple, then that would be just as beautiful and wonderful and amazing as any other temple that serves the purposes of God. I think there’s a fine line between embellishing the temple the way that God wants, that will uplift and strengthen his people and be conducive to his Spirit there, and then there’s just the gaudiness that could be put there, and why would people be interested in showing off their craftsmanship or high quality metals and jewelries? For show only, to make others feel less about themselves, or to make someone appear amazing. The other factor that makes verse 10 a mockery of God is that God’s temple should be built and decorated according to the will and guidance of God, and for a man who is not keeping the commandments, who is already mocking God in an obscene way, to go in and change things to the way that he likes it defiles the temple and I don’t think that God likes that. And if I remember correctly, the law of Moses has very specific requirements, read the Torah if there are any questions about the need for specificity, but a wicked man changing what is clearly defined in the scriptures is a big no no. In the Aaronic priesthood manual, lesson 42, President Ezra Taft Benson teaches “in the scriptures there is no such thing as righteous pride. It is always considered as a sin. We are not speaking of a wholesome view of self-worth, which is best established by a close relationship with God. But we are speaking of pride as the universal sin… Essentially, pride is a ‘my will’ rather than ‘thy will’ approach to life. The opposite of pride is humbleness, meekness, submissiveness, or teachableness… Pride is characterized by ‘what do I want out of life?’ rather than by ‘what would God have me do with my life?’ It is self-will as opposed to God’s will. It is the fear of man over the fear of God.” This is really why his changing and “beautifying” the temple is such an insult, his pride and arrogance says “this will make it better,” instead of God saying “this is what I want and why,” and he’s showing his rebellion against one of the most sacred structures of a righteous people.
9. Changed the military protection for his people. We’ve already established that Zeniff was a mighty military man and protected his people with guarding and spying strategies, surely when he handed the kingdom over to Noah, he taught him in all those ways as to protect the people. But we can see that he changed the way that he protected his people by building towers, high towers, that seem like they were more focused on pretty views than a guard post, and “thus he did do with the riches which he obtained by the taxation of his people.” So instead of providing a guard or any type of military protection, he used the resources to build these obscene buildings and towers. He did not send enough guards to sufficiently repel the Lamanites when they came against his people, this is a clear military mistake that any commander in chief should have been able to easily identify. In verse 17 and 18, we see that King Noah sent out his military when it was vital to the safety of his people, but when he did, it wasn’t in the strength of the Lord as his father had done, but “they did boast in their own strength… and did delight in blood, and the shedding of the blood of their brethren, and this because of the wickedness of their king and priests.” I wonder why they won that battle against the Lamanites even when they were wicked. Maybe it was for the sake of the righteous that were left in the city, maybe they were just stronger. But instead of being grateful for their win, they went crazy, basically mocking God and becoming murders, and I’m sure that all of this was celebrated in fully military regalia by king Noah and his priests.
11:1-19 – As the story goes, Noah, the new king “did not walk in the ways of his father.” The Book of Mormon GDM suggests making a list of ways that King Noah differed from his father and ways that he changed the affairs of the kingdom. So let’s do that.
1. He personally did not keep the commandments of God. The IM teaches why this is an important aspect, and the pivotal reason for the beginning of the fall, “Mormon vividly described the wickedness of King Noah. Later, Mosiah used the example of King Noah as the primary reason to eliminate government by kings: ‘How much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction! Yea, remember king Noah.’ King Noah’s complete selfishness in seeking the desires of the flesh stands as a warning to modern readers of the fate of such individuals.”
2. Had many wives and girlfriends, committed whoredoms. Jacob talks extensively about why the sin of immorality is so exceptionally terrible. It is the objectifying of women, which thing the Lord abhors, it is the opposite of self-mastery, it’s a life style enslaved by instant gratification, and it mocks the family as I’m sure king Noah had many many children, and that he cared very poorly for them, just like selfish people do. The other point that I think is important to note is that the world maintains a pretty standard balance of 50/50 male to female, statistically, unless there is some crazy war or something. So for King Noah and his priests to hoard so many women, probably meant that there were many men without wives, many children without a participating father, and many hearts broken.
3. Set a 20% tax on his people. Now this is coming from a king who I assume, like King Benjamin, labored with his own hands for his support, and probably had little to no taxation. Now I’m not going to sit here and say that all taxation is bad, because I honestly can’t see how even a stable, responsible government could function without some kind of taxation, and as citizens of such a nation, it’s our privilege to pay it, in order to enjoy schools, roads, judicial systems, etc. Those require some sort of federal management and costs money that should be paid by all those who enjoy it. But 20% is excessive, ask me how I know, now I said that I’m not going to get political here, but my tax rate is ridiculous, and sometimes I think “how can I as a single mom give so very much to the government?” So needless to say that king Noah and his government were very poor stewards of the people’s resources.
4. Used the taxed goods to support himself and his “friends” so that they didn’t have to work. This goes back to the concept that we discussed yesterday of work being an eternal principle. It’s very difficult to thrive, and it goes against gospel teaching to be lazy. The concept of something for nothing is not an eternal truth, and works against us as developing people. Yes, I can’t believe that I’m saying this, after what I just said yesterday.
5. Traded the faithful righteous priests (and advisors, I would assume) for wicked priests that told him what he wanted to hear. What this reminds me of is what we talked about yesterday and how, if Laman had been isolated in his craziness, then the outcomes would have been very different. King Noah surrounded himself with those who were even worse than he was, because some of the stuff that they did later is outrageous. And even when it came to Abinadi, king Noah was almost convinced to let him go, but his priests stirred him up again to put Abinadi to death. So by surrounding himself with wicked people, they easily just spiraled out of control until they ended up killing the prophet of the Lord.
6. Taught and had his priests teach the people, not the commandments of God, but “vain and flattering words.” Again, going back to Mosiah’s teaching that wicked kings make wicked people, and what we heard yesterday about people usually being just one generation from complete apostasy, having righteous teachers is so crucial to not only individual salvation, but also the salvation of entire nations. I remember we talked about some time ago, how our own individual righteous teachers have influenced our lives and how they have been influential in helping us make good choices. A complete abandonment of gospel teaching, coupled with the leadership preaching a hedonistic lifestyle is a recipe for all those who are not completely converted and maybe even some that are, to turn tail from the gospel and fully embrace straight madness. On my way back from the gym, I had the thought about how wicked teachers can warp the minds of those, even those fully committed to God. Several years ago, I started on a business venture with my brother and then husband. One of the things that the leadership that was supposedly making tons of money taught heavily, was that you couldn't be successful and you weren't fully committed to your business if you had a regular job that cared for your family while you were building your business. And this was preached so heavily, and in my gut, I knew that it was wrong, and that those who were quitting their jobs were making bad choices for their family, but it was taught so heavily and so convincingly that I came to despise my job, that it was holding me back from true success, and guess how well that went over with my attitude at work. And then when the market crashed and the truth came out that they were all bankrupt and hadn't been making any money for months, I was so grateful that God had let me have my little tantrum but still blessed me and my family with financial stability.
7. Used the taxed goods to build large, beautiful, probably useless, buildings, this took the resources of wood, gold, etc. away from the people who could have used it to be prosperous, and took the time for the craftsman to build the buildings when they could have been tending to their own farms, houses, and families. So basically he hoarded precious materials and people’s precious time for himself, and I’m confident that those buildings weren’t for the use of all his people, even the ones who worked on them and sacrificed for them. There is a responsibility of those in government to use the taxes collected in a responsible way. I’m not going to get political here, but there is something that is so dehumanizing when what you have worked so very hard for is simply taken and throw away. My favorite thing that he did here was make “a breastwork… that they might rest their bodies and their arms upon while they should speak lying and vain words to his people.” It’s interesting to me that Mormon spent effort making this such a detailed part of the story, he must have been uber disgusted with this aspect.
8. Worked “all manner of fine work within the walls of the temple, of fine wood, and of copper, and of brass.” At first this doesn’t seem so bad, like why is this a big deal, but let’s look for a second why this would be a negative. First off, like I tell my kids, who’s the richest person in the world? That’s right, Jesus. The beauty of the temple isn’t in the elaborate decorations, the beauty is in the Spirit of God that dwells there, it’s the symbolism; it’s the peace that is felt there. Temples are beautiful structures, but they aren’t obscene, and honestly if God wanted a basement corner storage room to be dedicated as a temple, then that would be just as beautiful and wonderful and amazing as any other temple that serves the purposes of God. I think there’s a fine line between embellishing the temple the way that God wants, that will uplift and strengthen his people and be conducive to his Spirit there, and then there’s just the gaudiness that could be put there, and why would people be interested in showing off their craftsmanship or high quality metals and jewelries? For show only, to make others feel less about themselves, or to make someone appear amazing. The other factor that makes verse 10 a mockery of God is that God’s temple should be built and decorated according to the will and guidance of God, and for a man who is not keeping the commandments, who is already mocking God in an obscene way, to go in and change things to the way that he likes it defiles the temple and I don’t think that God likes that. And if I remember correctly, the law of Moses has very specific requirements, read the Torah if there are any questions about the need for specificity, but a wicked man changing what is clearly defined in the scriptures is a big no no. In the Aaronic priesthood manual, lesson 42, President Ezra Taft Benson teaches “in the scriptures there is no such thing as righteous pride. It is always considered as a sin. We are not speaking of a wholesome view of self-worth, which is best established by a close relationship with God. But we are speaking of pride as the universal sin… Essentially, pride is a ‘my will’ rather than ‘thy will’ approach to life. The opposite of pride is humbleness, meekness, submissiveness, or teachableness… Pride is characterized by ‘what do I want out of life?’ rather than by ‘what would God have me do with my life?’ It is self-will as opposed to God’s will. It is the fear of man over the fear of God.” This is really why his changing and “beautifying” the temple is such an insult, his pride and arrogance says “this will make it better,” instead of God saying “this is what I want and why,” and he’s showing his rebellion against one of the most sacred structures of a righteous people.
9. Changed the military protection for his people. We’ve already established that Zeniff was a mighty military man and protected his people with guarding and spying strategies, surely when he handed the kingdom over to Noah, he taught him in all those ways as to protect the people. But we can see that he changed the way that he protected his people by building towers, high towers, that seem like they were more focused on pretty views than a guard post, and “thus he did do with the riches which he obtained by the taxation of his people.” So instead of providing a guard or any type of military protection, he used the resources to build these obscene buildings and towers. He did not send enough guards to sufficiently repel the Lamanites when they came against his people, this is a clear military mistake that any commander in chief should have been able to easily identify. In verse 17 and 18, we see that King Noah sent out his military when it was vital to the safety of his people, but when he did, it wasn’t in the strength of the Lord as his father had done, but “they did boast in their own strength… and did delight in blood, and the shedding of the blood of their brethren, and this because of the wickedness of their king and priests.” I wonder why they won that battle against the Lamanites even when they were wicked. Maybe it was for the sake of the righteous that were left in the city, maybe they were just stronger. But instead of being grateful for their win, they went crazy, basically mocking God and becoming murders, and I’m sure that all of this was celebrated in fully military regalia by king Noah and his priests.
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