King Benjamin declared that mortals are “less than the dust of the earth” (Mosiah 4:2). “Being ‘less than the dust of the earth’ is simply a metaphor to dramatize man’s fallen nature” (Largey, Book of Mormon Reference Companion, 519).
Elder David A. Bednar taught: “To arise is to come alive, to awaken to things of righteousness through individual conversion and preparation—all of which precedes making a distinctive difference in the lives of others” (“Arise and Shine Forth”).