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Less Than the Dust of the Earth. The comment that we are even less than the dust of the earth may, on the surface, seem a little more difficult to resolve. Has man no worth at all, as that would imply? An experience Moses had has an interesting parallel to King Benjamin's thinking here. Benjamin concluded that man is less than the dust of the earth immediately after he noted that God is the creator and sustainer of men. About a thousand years earlier, the prophet Moses was caught up in heavenly vision and was shown the creation of the world . . . and all the children of men. (Moses 1:8). Then the heavenly power withdrew, and Moses was left to himself. When he recovered a little from the experience, his first words were 'Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed' (Moses 1:10). Something about the majesty and infinite awesomeness of the creation reminded both King Benjamin and Moses of man's puny and finite nature. Even when we sense our smallness, however, are we really less than the dust? The 'less than' concept is what particularly stings. Nothingness is one thing, worthlessness quite another. On the surface, however, that is exactly what King Benjamin's phrase 'ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth' (Mosiah 2:25) seems to imply. Let us examine the phrase and its uses in the scriptures for clues that may aid our understanding. To begin with, 'dust of the earth' is a scriptural phrase implying far more than mere dirt particles. We are told that man was created from the dust of the earth (see Gen. 2:7). Perhaps another word that would come close to what is implied by dust would be the elements of the earth. In Latter-day Saint theology, we certainly do not believe that God pulled together a pile of mud, formed it into the shape of a man, and breathed life into it. A more accurate statement would be to say that God created the human body from the elements of the earth. Benjamin said then, to paraphrase, that we are not even as much as those elements. Interestingly, Mormon is the one who gives us the clues to help us better understand King Benjamin's statement. Benjamin's words, as well as the angel's message that the king delivered to his people, had such a powerful impact upon the people that they fell to the ground. Mormon commented significantly, 'They had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth' (Mosiah 4:2; emphasis added). What a significant clue! The carnal or natural man is what is less than the dust of the earth. King Benjamin apparently agreed. One of the first things he stated as he continued his address after his people had fallen to the ground was that his people had been awakened to a sense of '[their] nothingness, and [their] worthless and fallen state' (Mosiah 4:5). Here again man's worthlessness is mentioned in the context of his fallen state.Share
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