Textual: Now Mormon begins the real story. The rest of the information he has given about Noah up to this point is only to lay the foundation for the story of Abinadi, a story that has two parts, a first mission and a second mission. This is Abinadi's first mission from the Lord.
Social: Abinadi is a member of the society, he is "a man among them…" He may or may not have been one of those who had come from Zarahemla with Zeniff. We are unaware of his age, despite our very clear mental picture of him in an Arnold Freiburg painting. Whatever his age, he comes on a mission from God to preach repentance. He certainly is not one of the people who has abandoned God for the new religion, and he comes to preach against it. He is sent to preach against "abominations, wickedness, and whoredoms." All of these can be seen as the results of the adoption of the culture/religion of the surrounding areas which in turn denies the true God. Abinadi comes to call them back to their God.
Biographical: There is little information available on who Abinadi might have been. John Tvedtnes proposes an interesting hypothesis:
"When Noah replaced his father Zeniff as king of the Nephites living in the land of Nephi, "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" (Mosiah 11:5)….
We know that Abinadi "spake with power and authority from God" (Mosiah 13:6). Amid the political and religious corruption in the land of Nephi, how did he receive this divine authority? It is possible that he was one of the deposed priests who had served under the righteous king Zeniff, but, alas, the record is silent on this matter" (Tvedtnes, John A. The Most Correct Book. Cornerstone, 1999, pp. 323-4).