Abinadi proceeds to warn those who have become wicked, carnal, sensual, and devilish because of the Fall. That they became carnal, sensual, and devilish tells us that they were not originally that way. We learn from modern revelation:
38 Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God.
39 And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the tradition of their fathers. [D&C 93:38–39]
As the Lord told Adam:
55 And the Lord spake unto Adam, saying: Inasmuch as thy children are conceived in sin, even so when they begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts, and they taste the bitter, that they may know to prize the good.
56 And it is given unto them to know good from evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves, and I have given unto you another law and commandment. [Moses 6:55–56]
It is natural for man to follow their carnal and sensual instincts. Thus, “the natural man is an enemy to God” (Mosiah 3:19). To be carnal is to follow the flesh. To be sensual is to follow the senses. While these ways are not always bad, without following Christ and the guidance of the Spirit the best one may become is among the “honorable men of the earth,” who will become only terrestrial beings (D&C 76:75). They will not be sanctified. However, if they follow Satan, they will become devilish and telestial beings at best. As Lehi told his son Jacob:
And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom. [2 Nephi 2:29]
Therefore, a person may become carnal and sensual and yet not devilish, for a person will not become devilish except by yielding to the temptations of the devil through the flesh and the senses.
Abinadi speaks of Christ as though he had already come (Mosiah 16:6). The coming of Christ, and the fulfilling of his mission had been assured by Heavenly Father. There was no question of it happening. He was to be the source of salvation for all, to see and know (v. 1).