King Benjamin’s people viewed themselves “even less than the dust of the earth.” This expression described the fact that while the dust of the earth is obedient to the commands of God (see Helaman 12:7–8), they as God’s children had not always been obedient to His commands. They recognized their utter dependence upon God—that man must rely upon God for everything: life and breath, food and the ability to produce it, health and strength, salvation and eternal life. Without God and the Atonement, man is, in a very real sense, nothing. Humility comes from realizing our dependence upon the Lord. The key to our greatness is to remember our nothingness without Christ and His Atonement. As Jacob taught, if there were no Atonement we would never live again and we would become angels to the devil (see 2 Nephi 9:7–9).