The new religion did not take over the old synagogues, but had built new ones (v. 12). This was apparently because of the new practices they adopted. The day of the week that they worshiped is not given, but it was not the usual day of worship among the Nephites (v. 12). The Nephites would have worshiped on Saturday, which was “Instituted to commemorate God’s seventh day of rest at the creation (Exodus 20:10–11), and also redemption from Egyptian bondage (Deuteronomy 5:15)… . After the ascension of Christ, the members of the Church, whether Jews or gentiles, kept holy the first day of the week (the Lord’s day) as a weekly commemoration of our Lord’s resurrection (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2; Revelation 1:20).” Had the Zoramites worshiped on Saturday, the day would not have been renamed.
The high place where only one person could stand (Alma 31:13), later named the Rameumptom (v. 21), certainly was unique both then and today. It was not for the head of the congregation, or where the preacher only would go, but it was for every person to ascend and pray (v. 20).
The prayer that was offered, however, does have some similarities to our day. The belief of God being only a spirit (v. 15) is the prevalent belief of Christianity today. One of the first signs of an apostasy is the loss of the correct knowledge of God. However, the Zoramites did not believe in the Christian trinity God of today, who they believe can manifest himself in three different personages as he desires.
The prayer also contained the doctrine of election in the flesh (v. 16), a belief of many “ born again Christians” today, except the Zoramites did not believe in Jesus Christ (v. 16). The Zoramites carried it a step farther than the prevalent modern born again doctrine. They prescribed to the doctrine of predestination, those who did not believe had been elected not to be saved (v. 17). While there are many variations of belief in the many Christian churches, most of them do not teach that others are elected to damnation.
Another doctrine quite common in modern Christianity is the use of set prayers for various occasions, but the Zoramites had only one prayer for every occasion (vv. 20, 22). The Zoramites literally had a one-day-a-week religion (v. 23). While many people of other religions, including some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, do not worship or think of their religion on other than one day, their religion is not designed to be that way. Whatever the origin of the Zoramite religion, it had two characteristics common to the causes of Nephite apostasy and to our day. The Zoramite hearts were set upon riches (v. 24); and their hearts were lifted up in pride (v. 25). These same characteristics had caused some of the Nephites to fall previously (see Jacob 2:16; Mosiah 11:1–6; Alma 4:6).