King Noah deserves the dubious distinction of being the most wicked king in Nephite history. He taxes his people more than his predecessors, he encourages riotous living, becomes a wine-bibber, establishes the practice of polygamy and concubines to satisfy his lustful heart, turns his people from the Lord, fails to adequately protect them from the Lamanites, has the prophet Abinadi burned at the stake, and finally, while fleeing from a Lamanite army, suggests that the men abandon the women and children and run for their lives (Mosiah 19:11). He is the best example of the adage, when the wicked rule, the people mourn (DC 98:9).
The beginning of chapter 11 begins with a change from the unabridged record of Zeniff to Mormon’s abridgement of the record of Noah. Until the reign of Abinadi, Mormon has nothing good to write about—just the wickedness of Noah, his extravagance as king, and the wickedness of his priests.