The second part of the prayer is Alma’s desire to do something about the Zoramite apostasy. Therefore, he begins with his motivation, which is that “my heart is exceedingly sorrowful.” He is seeing a people who have left the true way, and, therefore, he sorrows that they have lost their way. What he desires is comfort to his soul, but a comfort that comes from being successful in teaching and turning their hearts back to the true way of Jehovah, and, of course, to the true understanding of the necessity of the atoning Messiah.
Verse 35 indicates not only that Zoramite souls are precious, but also that “many of them are our brethren.” In the original manuscript, the phrase is “many of them are our near brethren.” That is an interesting distinction. It removes the concern for the Zoramites as being simply generic brethren, and suggests that there might be many among them who were even relatives. The idea that there were “near brethren” among the Zoramites makes Alma’s concern even more understandable.