Before Alma and his brethren had gone to the Zoramites to preach the word, the Nephites had great fears regarding the Zoramites. Now the Nephites greatly feared that the Zoramites would enter into a correspondence with the Lamanites, and that it would be the means of great loss on the part of the Nephites (Alma 30:4). The Zoramites were in a strategic location directly south of the land of Jershon. If they were to join with the Lamanites, this would expose the people of Ammon to the armies of the Lamanites. This, of course, is exactly what happened and the Nephites greatest fears were realized.