“Babylon” is a type of the whole wicked world (Revelation 14:8; D&C 133:14; see also Revelation 16:19; 17:5; 18:2–4, 10, 21; D&C 1:16; 35:11; 64:24; 86:3; 133:5, 7).
Brigham Young University professor of ancient scripture Richard D. Draper wrote: “Babylon incarnates arrogance, pride, and insatiable corruption in opposition to God and his kingdom. It stands in contrast to the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, where the law of God thrives… .
“… Babylon represents a real historical organization… . it is composed of more than one entity… . Seeing spiritual Babylon as only one association, either at its inception or today, would therefore be wrong. It symbolizes all leagues that may be properly called Antichrist, that pervert the right way of the Lord, and that promote antichristian principles and life-styles.
“The arrogant Babylonians combined purely sensual and material principles with the lofty striving within the soul of man. Out of this grew the principle of spiritual fornication. Men mistook lust for joy, sought happiness through passion, and pursued security through materialism. The bit of graffiti, ‘He who dies with the most toys wins,’ could have been written as easily in Babylon as in New York, or Las Vegas. Today many still seek to find heaven through drugs, lust, money, success, or power. People continue to try to escape the deadly round of daily life through material and immoral means… .
“God has provided a solution: flee Babylon. The command demands a complete severing of relations. God allows no association whatsoever. There is good reason. Babylon is not to be converted but destroyed: ‘We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her’ (Jer. 51:9, KJV). Any that linger in Babylon will be taken with her plagues, ‘For after today cometh the burning … and I will not spare any that remain in Babylon’ (D&C 64:24).” 68