Alma 57 - 63

Elder Gene R. Cook suggested several principles of prayer, two being-

"...pray as if everything depends on God. By trusting in him, by relying on his strength and power, we receive strength and power unto ourselves to see us through to the end...work as if everything depends on us..." (Receiving Answers to Our Prayers-Gene R. Cook)

We see these same principles taught by Mormon in his epistle to Pahoran -

"Behold, could ye suppose that ye could sit upon your thrones, and because of the exceeding goodness of God ye could do nothing and he would deliver you? Behold, if ye have supposed this ye have supposed in vain." (Book of Mormon Alma 60:11)

And -

"...do ye suppose that the Lord will still deliver us, while we sit upon our thrones and do not make use of the means which the Lord has provided for us?" (Book of Mormon Alma 60:21)

The Lord expects us to work and use everything in our means. Helaman tells us of his 2060 young warriors -

"...they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them." (Book of Mormon Alma 57:20 - 21)

And because of that Helaman relates of those young warriors that they

"...had fainted because of the loss of blood; nevertheless, according to the goodness of God, and to our great astonishment, and also the joy of our whole army, there was not one soul of them who did perish; yea, and neither was there one soul among them who had not received many wounds.
26 And now, their preservation was astonishing to our whole army, yea, that they should be spared while there was a thousand of our brethren who were slain. And we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous power of God, because of their exceeding faith in that which they had been taught to believe—that there was a just God, and whosoever did not doubt, that they should be preserved by his marvelous power." (Book of Mormon Alma 57:25 - 26)

But notwithstanding this great miracle there were still many righteous Nephites that fell. Moroni teaches Pahoran -

"...Do ye suppose that, because so many of your brethren have been killed it is because of their wickedness? I say unto you, if ye have supposed this ye have supposed in vain; for I say unto you, there are many who have fallen by the sword; and behold it is to your condemnation.." (Book of Mormon Alma 60:12)

"For the Lord suffereth the righteous to be slain that his justice and judgment may come upon the wicked; therefore ye need not suppose that the righteous are lost because they are slain; but behold, they do enter into the rest of the Lord their God." (Book of Mormon Alma 60:13)

I close with these words of Moroni, and even though these words are specific to war, I think they have great application to many things -

"...will ye sit in idleness while ye are surrounded with thousands of those, yea, and tens of thousands, who do also sit in idleness, while there are thousands round about in the borders of the land who are falling by the sword, yea, wounded and bleeding?
23 Do ye suppose that God will look upon you as guiltless while ye sit still and behold these things? Behold I say unto you, Nay. Now I would that ye should remember that God has said that the inward vessel shall be cleansed first, and then shall the outer vessel be cleansed also." Book of Mormon Alma 60:22 - 23)