Anti-Nephi-Lehi Mothers: What They Taught Their Stripling Sons

Authors

Julie A.P. Frederick

Keywords

Book of Mormon studies, stripling warriors, Helaman, mothers, mother-son relationships

Abstract

When I first saw this shirt (see fig. 1), I was immediately taken with the contrast of the shirtless warriors in bodybuilder-type poses and the claim that these men with six-packs and bulging muscles were “momma’s boys.”1 I have always loved a clever juxtaposition, and this one was so delightful that I remember it from years ago. I was a student walking down the main hallway of Orem High School, and I actually stopped in the middle of the hallway to stare at it, then continued down the hall laughing to myself. What made the shirt even more wonderful was that the student wearing it was a popular athlete, who was able to wear that shirt with no social recriminations (at least none that I saw). I still think it’s wonderful that a teenage boy could see the stripling soldiers as models of men who could be strong—not in spite of but because of how much they valued their mothers.2 However, the shirt gives the wrong impression about who the stripling soldiers were and somewhat obscures their relationship to and the importance of their mothers. The assumptions made by this image and others like it can distort the story, a story which has so much more to teach us.

Recommended Citation

Frederick, Julie A.P. (2024) "Anti-Nephi-Lehi Mothers: What They Taught Their Stripling Sons," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 63: Iss. 3, Article 2.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol63/iss3/2