Leaving Babylon

Introduction:

This whole essay is based on the idea that fleeing Babylon is the same thing as getting out of the Great and Abominable Church. It comes from the previous post where I cite JST Rev 12:7 which says the woman is the church of God and the woman is riding the dragon. The dragon is equated with Babylon in Jer 51. I here propose that The Great and Abominable Church and the Church of the Firstborn are intermingled and indistinguishable just like the woman and the dragon are flying together even though the dragon hates the woman.

Why They are Indistinguishable?

Next, I want to propose that the great church is synonymous with the tares.

“That great church, the mother of abominations, that made all nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornications…behold, she is the tares of the earth.” (D&C 88:94)

If the wheat and the tares are so similar that you can’t tell them apart until the tares don’t produce fruit, then the Church and the Great and Abominable church are in the same field, so to speak. And therefore, getting out of the Abominable Church is harder than it first appears.

The Great and Abominable Church

Nephi was shown the Great and Abominable church in vision in 1 Ne 13-14. It’s founder is the devil. Everyone belongs to either the “church of the Lamb” or the “church of the devil” —there are no other options (1 Ne 14:10) The “mother of abominations” fights against the “Lamb of God.” Later, Nephi broadens the definition of the church as anyone, Jew or Gentile, who fights against Zion. (2 Ne 10:16)

Christianity today is a lot like the seven churches in the Revelation 2-3. Some are being persecuted and some are persecuting others and some are neither “cold nor hot.” (Rev 3:16) There is a lot of variation in what they are experiencing and a lot of different fruit. (Jacob 5:31)

In contrast, the Church of the firstborn is of one heart. The Lord says in D&C 38:27, “If ye are not one, ye are not mine.” The Church of the Firstborn gets it’s first mention in D&C 76. It includes only those who have received celestial glory in the final judgement so in reality it doesn’t even exist here on Earth. The “church” here is a precursor of a much more glorious reality.

The Master of the vineyard doesn’t pull the tares from the wheat for one reason: the blade of wheat is yet tender (D&C 86:6) In other words, “the root might be too strong for the graft.” (Jacob 5:65) For this reason the tares have been allowed to remain in and amongst the wheat.

What Exactly are we Trying to Leave?

Leaving Babylon is like trying to leave your own identity and culture. First you can’t see it and second you kind of are it. “And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the gold, and the silver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and the fine-twined linen, and the precious clothing, and the harlots, are the desires of this great and abominable church.” (1 Ne 13:8) Is it really that hard to be both spiritual and materialistic?

Jesus spoke critically of competition in the church when he said we should sit at the lowest seat and wait to be called up. The Pharisees of his day loved the uppermost seats so he told a parable in Luke 14:8-14. One of the takeaways was, “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” (Luke 14:11)

I propose that in essence, we are trying to leave our unbelief behind. Moroni had this to say, “Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you—yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.” (Ether 4:15)

What Can I Do to Leave Babylon?

Here’s what Russell M Nelson said. “Sometimes we speak almost casually about walking away from the world with its contention, pervasive temptations, and false philosophies. But truly doing so requires you to examine your life meticulously and regularly. As you do so, the Holy Ghost will prompt you about what is no longer needful, what is no longer worthy of your time and energy.

“As you shift your focus away from worldly distractions, some things that seem important to you now will recede in priority. You will need to say no to some things, even though they may seem harmless. As you embark upon and continue this lifelong process of consecrating your life to the Lord, the changes in your perspective, feelings, and spiritual strength will amaze you!” (Spiritual Treasures, Ensign, Nov 2019)

Russell M Nelson suggested we search D&C 25 for specific actions to take. Here’s what I’ve pulled from that advice, originally given to Emma Smith. We should walk in the paths of virtue, murmur not, write and learn to be able to expound scripture and cleave unto our covenants.

You should also read my previous post "The Woman and the Red Dragon"