King Noah indicated that he was condemning Abinadi because Abinadi said that “God himself should come down among the children of men” (Mosiah 17:8). The real reason is shown in King Noah’s statement that he would spare Abinadi if he would recall all the words he had spoken against the king and his people (see v. 8).One of the methods of the guilty is to destroy those who have exposed their guilt. Abinadi’s words condemned Noah and his people for their sinful ways, so Noah sought the life of Abinadi. Truly, as Nephi said, “The guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center” (1 Nephi 16:2).
