Culture: This description of Zoramite society tells us that they differ from Nephite norms. Mormon repeats the detail that everyone offers the “selfsame” prayer but only when “they had assembled themselves together.” This prayer had a communal, not an individual, function. Nephite religion had no counterpart to this public statement of unity, since the missionaries find it astonishing. Zoramite worship therefore maintained distinct political and communal overtones, but Nephite worship did not use public prayer in this manner.
The second criticism is that worship is confined to a specific day and that the Zoramites did not otherwise speak of Yahweh. Their worship was communal, not individual. Like many similar religions, its focus was logically on events that occurred at community gatherings. Nephite worship, while having communal elements, was essentially practiced by individuals.