Helaman calls these young men his sons, not simply because of their age, but because of their shared closeness of purpose, their heroic effort, and their “worthiness.”
They arrived in Judea to find a difficult situation. Not only is Judea a critical strategic location, which must be held at all costs, but the Lamanite wars had already claimed many lives. This depletion of the Nephite forces was, in fact, exactly why these young men had enlisted.
Helaman’s personal faith is shown in his focus on the faithfulness of the dead (and therefore their eternal happiness). This encouraging element, however, does not extend to the military situation.