Mormon summarizes the social climate for Abinadi’s second mission: the people, not just the king, opposed Abinadi and sought his life. They do not repent. Consequently, the judgments of God will surely come upon them.
Abinadi returns in disguise, so why then does he openly announce his name? As Mosiah 11:29 explains, Abinadi would have been attacked on sight. The disguise was necessary to allow him to penetrate the community and to make his announcement in the most public possible manner. Whether Abinadi understood that martyrdom awaited him, Yahweh’s purposes required that Abinadi testify before Noah’s court. As a result, he had to publicly preach and identify himself, triggering a formal arrest rather than merely mob murder. His trial before Noah was the true purpose of his mission. The disguise was necessary to achieve that direct confrontation.
Text: Mormon did not create a chapter break at this point. I have repeated Mosiah 11:29 in order to provide some of the context that was lost in the chapter divisions, beginning in 1879. Mormon is taking this part of his account from some source that is more sympathetic to Abinadi than King Noah’s official court records would have been. (See commentary accompanying Mosiah 17:3–4.)