Alma supports his assertion that they do not need a place for worship by citing a scripture that he assumes will be familiar to this people. It is a text from Zenos, a prophet from the brass plates. It is interesting to note that Alma does not pull out his pocket plates to read this passage, but rather cites it from memory. This is not uncommon in the ancient world where there was less access to written sources than there is now. In such societies the memory was more frequently called upon, and such peoples were frequently capable of prodigious feats of memory. This passage from Zenos encompasses verses 4-11.