ˁAmida
The Zoramite Prayer at Alma
31:15-18; is the virtual counterpart to the important Jewish ˁAmida,
"Standing-prayer"= Shemone-ˁEsre, "Eighteen" (which
is similar to the Hebrew Ecclesiasticus 51:121,35, and which can be part of the
“Portion of the King” at covenant renewal time — Talmud Babli Sota 7:8
[41a], Mosiah 2:7, Deut 17:14-20, II Chron 34:29-31), which contains praise, petition,
and thanksgiving sections, as here (the third benediction can be expanded with
a Qeduša for congregational use), and is said standing. Though the ˁAmida
can be abbreviated and is normally said individually, it always uses “us,
we,” and is therefore communal; when recited aloud by a reader, the
congregation responds “Amen.” The ˁAmida relates directly to the form,
function, and meaning of the rameumptom in Alma 31:13,21,23. As with the
Muslim ˁumdan “standing” prayer at Mecca, Hajj-pilgrims stand on the
Plain of Arafat with arms raised praying for repentance. Upraised hands,
originally “a salute to God in his heavenly temple,” were also raised to God’s
earthly sanctuary (Psalms 28:2, 134:2). (Robert F. Smith, The Metanarrative
of the Book of Mormon & Associated Features [The Ethnological
Foundations of the Book of Mormon 1; Provo, Utah: Deep Forest Green Books,
2026], 36)
