According to the Book of Mormon

Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...

, King Noah was a wicked monarch best known for burning the prophet Abinadi

Abinadi

According to the Book of Mormon, Abinadi was a prophet who lived on the American continent about 150 BC. In the Book of Mormon account, Abinadi visited the court of King Noah at Lehi-Nephi, and pled for them to repent of their iniquity. Abinadi gave Noah the message of the coming of the Lord...

 at the stake. King Noah, described in the Book of Mosiah

Book of Mosiah

The Book of Mosiah is one of the books which make up the Book of Mormon. The title refers to Mosiah II, a king of the Nephites at Zarahemla. The book covers the time period between ca 130 BC and 91 BC, except for when the book has a flashback into the Record of Zeniff, which starts at ca 200 BC,...

, is said to have presided over a wicked kingdom guided by false priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

s. Noah succeeds his father Zeniff

Zeniff

Zeniff is a minor but pivotal person in the Book of Mormon. He is a Nephite. He left Zarahemla with a group of Nephites to go to the land of Nephi. This is remarkable since the Nephites had previously abandoned the land of Nephi. At the time of Zeniff's journey to the land of Nephi, it was...

, and is succeeded by his son Limhi

Limhi

In The Book of Mormon, Limhi was the third and final king of the second Nephite habitation of the land of Lehi-Nephi. He succeeded his father, Noah. Led by Ammon, he escaped from the Lamanites with his people to Zarahemla.-See also:* King Noah...

.

Noah's father Zeniff

Noah's father, Zeniff

Zeniff

Zeniff is a minor but pivotal person in the Book of Mormon. He is a Nephite. He left Zarahemla with a group of Nephites to go to the land of Nephi. This is remarkable since the Nephites had previously abandoned the land of Nephi. At the time of Zeniff's journey to the land of Nephi, it was...

, led a group of Nephites into the land of their 'first inheritance' (the land originally settled by Lehi and his descendants upon their arrival in the Americas). Zeniff had made an agreement with the Lamanites in the area, but wars between the two peoples inevitably ensued. Upon his death Zeniff conferred the kingdom on Noah, who seems to have been far less diligent in preparing and protecting his people against their enemies than his father. Noah was an extremely wicked man and he taxed his people heavily, spending the money on extravagances and wickedness. Possibly the greatest wrong he did his subjects, however, was to teach them to follow his own wicked ways. He deposed the righteous priests who had been appointed by his father and replaced them with prideful ones. Through vanity and flattery they led the people to commit the same sins that they themselves did. Some of the sins that are listed are pride, laziness, idolatry, whoredoms, adultery, drunkenness, and riotous living.

The prophet Abinadi

The prophet Abinadi was sent to preach repentance to Noah's people, but was not immediately successful. He was imprisoned and taken before King Noah and his priests. They attempted to "cross him" (or prove him a liar) by asking difficult questions concerning the interpretation of scriptures, including an excerpt from Isaiah

Isaiah

Isaiah ; Greek: ', Ēsaïās ; "Yahu is salvation") was a prophet in the 8th-century BC Kingdom of Judah.Jews and Christians consider the Book of Isaiah a part of their Biblical canon; he is the first listed of the neviim akharonim, the later prophets. Many of the New Testament teachings of Jesus...

, but were unable to do so. Abinadi began to teach them the Ten Commandments

Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...

 and they attempted to "do away with him" but were unable to touch him because he was protected by the power of God. He continued to teach them the rest of the Ten Commandments, as well as to interpret further writings of Isaiah and teach them about Jesus Christ. He finished by testifying that redemption comes through Christ.
Abinadi, having delivered his message, was executed by fire. As he was dying he prophesied that Noah would suffer death in a similar manner.

The priest Alma

One of the priests of Noah, a young man named Alma

Alma the Elder

According to the Book of Mormon, Alma was a Nephite prophet who established the Church of Jesus Christ in the Americas during the reign of the wicked King Noah...

, believed Abinadi's words and plead with the king to spare the prophet's life. Alma was cast out, and was forced to hide so that the servants of the king would not kill him. He taught the words of Abinadi to more of the people, and many believed him. He also became a great prophet and religious leader among the rest of the Nephites later in his life. Hence, Abinadi was successful in his mission although he died a martyr and only one man believe his teachings.
King Noah's wickedness and oppression of his people continued. Alma and his followers left Noah's people and the king's army were unable to follow them. A minority of Noah's people became angry with him, including a man named Gideon who swore to kill the king. They fought, and Noah saw that he was about to lose so he fled to a tower. From the top of the tower he saw an army of Lamanites about to attack and convinced Gideon to spare him so that he could lead the people to safety.

Limhi becomes king

Noah and his people fled, but were unable to escape the Lamanites. He ordered them to leave their wives and children behind. Some did, while others did not. They were captured by the Lamanites and returned to their lands, where they were taxed one half of all they owned and produced. They made Noah's son, Limhi

Limhi

In The Book of Mormon, Limhi was the third and final king of the second Nephite habitation of the land of Lehi-Nephi. He succeeded his father, Noah. Led by Ammon, he escaped from the Lamanites with his people to Zarahemla.-See also:* King Noah...

, their king. Those who abandoned their families and stayed with Noah were sorry for their choice. They turned on Noah and his priests. They burned Noah to death but his priests ran away and hid in the wilderness. The men then returned, determined to find out what had happened to their families and to avenge them or die with them. They rejoined Limhi's people.

Limhi ruled over his people in captivity for some time. Eventually they escaped and rejoined the main body of the Nephites in Zarahemla

Zarahemla

Zarahemla is the name of a prominent land, a capital city, and a leader in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is revered by members of various Latter Day Saint churches as sacred scripture....

, as did Alma and his followers. Their story of the wickedness of King Noah and the consequences for his people was most likely a great motivation for the people in accepting King Mosiah's proposition that kingship be done away with among the Nephites. At the death of Mosiah, kings were replaced with a system of lesser and chief judges. The first chief judge was Alma (known as Alma the Younger

Alma the Younger

According to the Book of Mormon, Alma, the son of Alma was a Nephite prophet often referred to as "Alma the Younger" to distinguish him from his father, who is often referred to as "Alma the Elder"...

), the son of that Alma who had been a priest of King Noah.