Wicked King Noah

King Noah in the Book of Mormon is an archtypically wicked guy. He is commonly referred to as 'wicked King Noah' and when he orders everyone to leave their wives and kids to die and save themselves, you kind of want to smack him. 

So why is Noah so ridiculous? His father, Zeniff, often talks about doing things "in the strength of the Lord." He wasn't a prophet or anything, but he was a righteous man who feared God and tried to obey the commandments. His son, Limhi, is referred to as a "just man," who is thrilled to accept the gospel later on. So what's up with Noah? 

1) Selfishness - it says in Mosiah 11:2 that Noah "did walk after the desires of his own heart." He gave into lust, having many wives and concubines. He gave into lusts for wealth, taxing the people so he could build fancy buildings and live in luxury. He gave into the draw of all recreation, all the time. He spent his time in riotous living. He gave into gluttony, the scriptures particularly mention. Alcohol. All in all, he behaves the way a stereotypical trust fund frat boy might. Unfortunately he was the leader of a nation and he dragged them down with him. 

2) Idolatry - Noah wasn't worshiping little golden figures or anything, but he put down all the righteous priests (might Abinadi have been one of those?) and set up new ones that would support his lifestyle. He literally reorganized the church to support his sinful behavior. 

3) Pride - when the Lamanites start to bother the people who live on the outskirts of the land, Noah sends an army to chase them off. When they beat this group of disorganized opportunists, they "did boast." Far from the sentiments of Zeniff, who always gave the Lord credit for his military successes, Noah decided he must be the greatest military leader in the world. 

4) Fear - I see fear in all of Noah's interactions with Abinadi. He seeks to destroy him, he throws him into jail. He watches Abinadi literally glow with the power of God and still wants to kill him. In Mosiah 17:11 it says that Noah almost released Abinadi because he feared his words. Noah actions are always motivated by fear. He doesn't have the courage to admit that he was wrong and repent.  This fear continues to be evident when he runs from Gideon and begs for his life and when he commands the people to leave their wives and children and flee. 

5) Short-sighted - not as explicit in the scriptures, when we think about it we can see how shortsighted Noah is. He thinks that chasing off a few raiding parties and building a tower will protect them from the Lamanites. He thinks if he shuts Abinadi up his words won't be real, he thinks that he can lie, cheat, overtax, hang out with tons of women, drink all he wants and be gluttonous without any consequences. 

So, five things for us to avoid if we don't want to turn out like Wicked King Noah, condemned by a prophet, then hated and executed by his own people