In one sense, then, we come to see ourselves as less than the dust of the earth as we, like the people of Benjamin, view ourselves in our carnal and unredeemed state, as we realize our absolute need for the Redeemer (see Mosiah 4:1-2). Here Mormon explains another way in which the children of men are less than the dust of the earth—the inanimate dust of the earth obeys when God speaks, whereas the highest of the animate creation, man, so often fails to hearken to and obey the word of the Lord. See commentary on Mosiah 4:5.