“In Their Synagogues”
Further, the view generally reflected in non-Latter-day Saint publications is that the synagogue (i.e., “gathering-place”) did not come into being until the Babylonian exile. Since the exiles had no access to the temple, it is thought that the synagogue developed as its substitute. We would simply respond that the need to gather together for instruction in the principles of the gospel traces itself to the days of Adam. Nor would we expect to see it acknowledged in Bible commentary that sanctuaries existed apart from the temple as places of worship, yet the Book of Mormon refers to them as such, identifying them as places to worship “God before the altar” (Alma 15:17). Commentators reluctantly admit, however, that in pre-Mosaic times laymen freely offered sacrifices at altars of earth or stone. Nor did Moses put an end to such a practice, but simply sought to regulate it and avoid abuse (see Exodus 20:24-26; Deuteronomy 16:21).