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We would like to paint our wood maple cabinets. They have a blonde stain on them I guess you would call it. We want to paint them white, question is, do we need to sand every square of them inside and out and all the other parts that show? Do we also need to prime them before actually painting? OR!! can I skip that whole process and go straight to paint? TIA!

Remove all the hinges, knobs, hardware before you begin.
The surfaces need to be very clean/dry in order for the paint/primer to stick. It is a good idea to sand, just to get a bit of tooth to the slick varnished surface. If they are newer cabinets and you clean them well (remove all trace of cooking oils and finger oils as well as any surface soil), then just a light go over with a sanding sponge may be all that is required.

I like TSP for a cleaner, and then rinse with a clear water dipped cloth and allow to dry well.

YES.... you should always use a separate primer, Zinsser 1 2 3 is what I like. Then get the best quality enamel paint that a pro paint store recommends. I use Sherwin Williams, but Benjamin Moore is good too.

Your prep is 3/4 of a great long lasting paint job, so don't skip any steps...or you may end up repeating the whole process way too soon.

For paint to adhere it should have some tooth or roughness. So yes, you have to go over every square inch you are painting.

But it is not the hard sanding like you are thinking. Just a light one should do unless you have problem areas. Follow
Conrad's suggestions.

I just added this so you are clear that you have to sand everything.

Whenever I have taken on a big DIY job, I reward myself with the purchase of proper tools to do it painlessly.
Justify it with the money saved from your labor vs paying others? Having the right tools makes the labor go faster and often gives better results for that and other projects.

For example when I painted our Birch kitchen cupboards, I bought a small 4 inch Makita finish sander and a small 9 inch belt sander. Both have bags which help reduce the dust issue where ever they are used. I found them very helpful, and continue to use them for other projects.

I cover painting kitchen cabinets in the paint topic on my website at www.bobf.info; I give some time-saving hints you might find useful.