Social: We must read these verses through Mormon’s expression of displeasure at the peoples actions. When the people labor, it is Mormon who concludes that they labor to “support iniquity.” It is much more telling that as he describes the situation, Mormon lets us know that Noah and his court were “in…idolatry” and then the very next verse indicates that the people also “became idolatrous.” The idolatry issue is extremely critical, and we should not pass it quickly. One of the great distinctions of Israel was its firm stance against idols in a world full of the idols of religions. The introduction of an idol into Israel is not simply an artifact, but an alteration of the fabric of religious thought. When Mormon says that Noah had become idolatrous, it is more than Noah bringing in a golden calf. Noah has changed religions. In addition, his people have also changed religion. Both Noah and his people have become idolatrous, a signal that not only has the political world been overthrown, but the religious also.
It was this alteration of the religious reality of the people from Zeniff to Noah that is the cause of the litany of transgressions Mormon gives. They were not things that the people simply decided to do, but rather a set of practices that came with the new religion/political order they had adopted.