The Nephites used many words to describe their meeting places. The word, "church," is not one of them. In the Book of Mormon, the word, "church," is used to describe the organization but not the building. Thus, members of the church met not in churches, but in sanctuaries and synagogues. We know little of the difference between Nephite sanctuaries and synagogues. Both were apparently places of common worship. In this verse, we learn that they were built after the manner of the Jews, and in the last chapter, we learned that they had altars in their sanctuaries which were used for worship (Alma 15:17).