Wicked King Noah: A story for our day

The Sunday School lesson I taught on the third Sunday of May was on Mosiah chapters 11 through 17. These chapters tell of a wicked king (Noah) and a prophet (Abinadi) who was sent to call the king and his people to repentance. This story is alarmingly relevant to our lives today. (As you will see if you read to the end).

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.

For behold, he did not keep the commandments of God, but he did walk after the desires of his own heart. … 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.

Mosiah 11:1-2

When I asked the class, “How can a leader “cause his people to commit sin?” they responded by saying that the leader sets the example. What the leader does, and how the leader behaves, establishes what is normal. If the leader sins, that gives the people permission to sin.

Noah surrounded himself with loyalists

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.
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.

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 11:5-7

King Noah removed from power the officials put in place by his predecessor and replaced them with loyalists who were as wicked as he was. Noah then used these loyalists to deceive and corrupt the people by using “vain and flattering words.”

The people cannot avoid responsibility

I asked the class, “What usually comes first? Wicked leaders or wicked people?” This led to an interesting discussion. One married couple took opposite sides (in a friendly way).

The class finally agreed that it depended on the specific situation, so I then asked “What if the situation is one wherein the people choose their own leaders?” (i.e., a democracy). In that situation, the class agreed that the people themselves are responsible for the quality of their leaders.

And it came to pass that there was a man among them whose name was Abinadi; and he went forth among them, and began to prophesy, saying: Behold, thus saith the Lord, and thus hath he commanded me, saying, Go forth, and say unto this people, thus saith the Lord—Wo be unto this people, for I have seen their abominations, and their wickedness, and their whoredoms; and except they repent I will visit them in mine anger.
And except they repent and turn to the Lord their God, behold, I will deliver them into the hands of their enemies; yea, and they shall be brought into bondage; and they shall be afflicted by the hand of their enemies.

Mosiah 11:20-21

The prophet Abinadi did not simply call King Noah to repentance. He said, “Wo be unto this people.” Abinadi’s warning to repent or suffer applied to everyone.

Deny and attack the messenger

When faced with Abinadi’s warning, King Noah resorted to the age-old tactics of: 1. Denying the charges against him, 2. Proclaiming his own innocence, and 3. Attacking the messenger.

Now when king Noah had heard of the words which Abinadi had spoken unto the people, he was also wroth; and he said: Who is Abinadi, that I and my people should be judged of him, or who is the Lord, that shall bring upon my people such great affliction?

I command you to bring Abinadi hither, that I may slay him, for he has said these things that he might stir up my people to anger one with another, and to raise contentions among my people; therefore I will slay him.

Now the eyes of the people were blinded; therefore they hardened their hearts against the words of Abinadi, and they sought from that time forward to take him. And king Noah hardened his heart against the word of the Lord, and he did not repent of his evil doings.

Mosiah 11:27-29

Blind followers support the King’s vanity

Noah was supported in his lies by the people whose eyes had become blind because of the “vain and flattering words” they had willingly listened to and accepted as true. In fact, the people’s hearts were so hardened it was the people, not Noah’s soldiers, who grabbed Abinadi, tied him up, and took him to King Noah (Mosiah 12:9).

When delivering the prophet to the wicked king, the people were disgustingly obsequious. They started with flattery, then denied their sins, and finished by appealing to the King’s vanity.

And now, O king, what great evil hast thou done, or what great sins have thy people committed, that we should be condemned of God or judged of this man?

And now, O king, behold, we are guiltless, and thou, O king, hast not sinned; therefore, this man has lied concerning you, and he has prophesied in vain.

And behold, we are strong, we shall not come into bondage, or be taken captive by our enemies; yea, and thou hast prospered in the land, and thou shalt also prosper.

Behold, here is the man, we deliver him into thy hands; thou mayest do with him as seemeth thee good.

Mosiah 12:13-16

King Noah eventually ordered that the prophet Abinadi be executed.

The lesson should be obvious

While teaching this lesson, to an adult Sunday School class in Utah, I was very careful to stay completely on script with the Book of Mormon text so as to not be accused of spreading my own, Democrat, political bias during church. But here in my personal blog I feel free to say that it is as plain as day to me that the Book of Mormon’s wicked King Noah is an analogue of Donald J. Trump.

In fact, I believe strongly that the story of King Noah, and the stories of several other villains in the Book of Mormon, were specifically sent to the members of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as WARNINGS AGAINST Trump and people like him. I do not believe it is a coincidence that we are studying the Book of Mormon again in an election year.

The challenge

Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.

Mormon 8:35

Both Moroni and his father Mormon, who compiled and abridged a record of nearly 1000 years of history for us, consciously and deliberately included in the Book of Mormon those things that we, the members of the Church of Jesus Christ in these Latter-days, would need the most.

They chose to include multiple stories of wicked, but persuasive, leaders who used “vain and flattering words” to obtain power and gain for themselves while leading the people to misery and destruction. This frightening cycle is repeating again with Trumpism. He apparently remains popular among members of the LDS Church. There is no other explanation than willful, vain, self-blindness among people who should know better.

I cannot say this strongly enough. Vanity is very dangerous. It not only causes us to put our selfish interests over the good of others, but it also causes us to put our stubborn self-image ahead of the truth. Vanity actually blinds us to reality because we can’t see past the mirror.

I do not know if any of the many Republicans in my Sunday School class woke up during that lesson and recognized the extensive parallels between the wicked King Noah and the former U.S. President, but I did my best that day to highlight the voice of warning as contained in the Book of Mormon.

He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Matthew 11:15