As readers, we may well regret that Mormon pressed on with his story instead of giving us the details of Abinadi’s deliverance. It takes little imagination to understand why those who had embraced the new culture/religion would want to remove Abinadi. After all, he was denouncing their very lifestyle and all that they believed that they had achieved. The people themselves—not court officials—rejected Abinadi. Verse 26 suggests that the people to whom Abinadi was preaching sought his life, but Noah had not apparently heard of Abinadi at this point, as verse 27 clarifies. Although it is convenient to blame Noah for the people’s apostasy, they brought their own bondage upon themselves.