Isaiah 52:9-12, Part 3 (revised)

"Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord." (Isaiah 52:11)

Where is the place the Lord is commanding His people to leave? He pleads with them to "go out of the midst of her", (a woman.) In Isaiah 1:21 Isaiah accuses Jerusalem of becoming a harlot:

"How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it but now murderers." (Isaiah 1:21)

If we were Jews and likened this scripture unto ourselves as Nephi counseled all readers to do, (1 Nephi 19:23) we might assume the "she" in Isaiah 52:11 was a reference to Jerusalem. But we are not Jews and the "harlot" we are to flee is "Babylon", whom John called "the mother of all harlots." (Revelation 17:5)

The Doctrine & Covenants provides a clearer definition of who "Babylon" is in the last days:

"Go ye out from among the nations, even from Babylon, from the midst of wickedness, which is spiritual Babylon. But verily, thus saith the Lord, let not your flight be in hast, but let all things be prepared before you; and he that goeth, let him not look back lest sudden destruction shall come upon him." (D&C 133:14-15)

Babylon is not a geographical location or individual nation. Babylon lives within the borders of all nations and the cry of our Lord is to flee Babylon, which is a condition of spiritual wickedness. While in flight, those fleeing Babylon are counseled "touch no unclean thing." Their flight is not to be done in haste, but slow, gradual and methodical. In Jacob's explanation of the allegory of the tame and wild olive trees, he describes the process as follows:

"For it grieveth me that I should lose the trees of my vineyard; wherefore ye shall clear away the bad according as the good shall grow, that the root and the top may be equal in strength, until the good shall overcome the bad, and the bad be hewn down and cast into the fire, that they cumber not the ground of my vineyard; and thus will I sweep away the bad out of my vineyard." (Jacob 5:66)

The Lord is patient with His people and gradually prepares His people in flight from Babylon. During the preparatory period the good is nurtured in their spiritual growth while the bad are gradually rejected.

Leaving Babylon is not to be done quickly. It is not a straight line between two points. Those who leave Babylon are traversing a mine field and may trigger a fatal encounter by touching anything unclean while in flight.

I am reminded of the many disciplinary councils I have participated in where a seemingly innocuous perusal of pornographic material led to the abuse of a child, loss of self respect and destruction of families. We cannot risk touching anything unclean in our flight from Babylon. We should be constantly assessing the manner in which we use our time. What occupies our thoughts in idle moments. Are we walking as close to the line as we possibly can, always coming as close as possible without crossing over? When we leave Babylon will we take our eyes off our goal ahead only to be turned to a pillar of salt when we look back longingly for the sinful world we are leaving behind. Establishing Zion will never be done by half hearted measures. To find the Lord and invite Him to dwell again with us in Zion will require full commitment of heart.

Another story from my mission is relevant to this passage. It was told by John Lund at a mission conference in Seattle, Washington. John spoke of a mission president in Canada who was struggling with recent set backs in the mission he presided over. In answer to his prayers he began to have a reoccurring dream. In the dream he saw his missionaries approaching people with buckets of water to drink from. When the missionaries raised the buckets up the people declined to drink. After many nights of seeing the same dream, the mission president prayed for the interpretation to the dream. The following night the president saw the same dream with one significant variation. As he witnessed a missionary raising the bucket up to offer a drink, the president was shown a view of the inside of the bucket. He too was repulsed when he saw dirt and filth in the bottom of the bucket. He was then given to understand the missionaries were guilty of sin and in need of repentance before people would drink the water they were offering. A call for repentance went out and baptisms in the mission resumed.

The Lord expects each of us to become clean vessels so others will "see our good works and glorify our Father, who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16) We need to follow the Lord's counsel to Isaiah:

"Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil." (Isaiah 1:16)

Ceasing to do evil is our passport out of Babylon and a key to bringing power to our testimony of Christ and His gospel.

We must prepare for our flight out of Babylon, for if we prepare, we shall not fear. (D&C 38:30)