Come Ye Out from the Wicked

Today I was reading in Alma in the Book of Mormon and there was a verse that stood out to me...
Alma 5:57:
And now I say unto you, all you that are desirous to follow the voice of the good shepherd, come ye out from the wicked, and be ye separate, and touch not their unclean things;

Elder David R Stone of the Seventy gave the talk Zion in the Middle of Babylon which talked about the construction of the Manhattan New York Temple and how it provided an example of how to remove oneself from the influence of the world.

"Too many of the people of the world have come to resemble the Babylon of old by walking in their own ways and following a god 'whose image is in the likeness of the world' [D&C 1:16].

"One of the greatest challenges we will face is to be able to live in that world but somehow not be of the world. We have to create Zion in the midst of Babylon...

"My involvment with the building of the Manhattan Temple gave me the opportunity to be in the temple quite often prior to the dedication. It was wonderful to sit in the celestial room and be there in perfect silence, without a single sound to be heard coming from the busy New York streets outside. How was it possible that the temple could be so reverently silent when the hustle and bustle of the metropolis was just a few feet away?

"The answer was in the constuction of the temple. The temple was bulit within the walls of an existing building, and the inner walls of the temple were connected to the outer walls at only a very fewjunction points. That is how the temple (Zion) limited the effects of Babylon, or the world outside.
"There may be a lesson here for us. We can create the real Zion among us by limiting the extent to which Babylon will influence our lives...
"Wherever we are, whatever city we may live in, we can build our own Zion by the principles of the celestial kingdom and ever seek to become the pure in heart...
"We do not need to become as puppets in the hands of the culture of the place and time. We can be courageous and can walk in the Lord's path and follow His footsteps" (General Conference 2006)

The Manhattan temple is one of my favorite temples. I love how it is right in the middle of New York City, right amongst the hustle and bustle. The temple is so small that when we would go do temple trips, we couldn't go down with the entire youth, just a small group would go. 

I love this picture. It shows all the craziness going on downtown, cars driving, traffic starting to build up, but once you get inside those Temple walls, it really is peaceful. I really enjoyed how Elder Stone uses the Manhattan Temple as an example of 'coming out from the wicked' because you really are removing yourself from wicked when you enter.
I love the 2002 youth theme- Stand Ye in Holy Places which comes from D&C 87:8. I remember this theme really well, maybe because it was when I was a little baby beehive, or maybe because it is very short and powerful. Stand Ye in Holy Places. A simple commandment with such a great reward attached if we follow it. If we can 'come out from the wicked' and 'stand in holy places', Satan will have much less control over us and we will be so much closer to the Lord.

Alma 5:57: And now I say unto you, all you that are desirous to follow the voice of the good shepherd, come ye out from the wicked, and be ye separate, and touch not their unclean things;

One thing I want to do in my life is to follow this scripture, to really separate myself from wicked by avoiding R rated movies and inappropriate music, to not gossip or talk about people behind their backs, and avoiding slothfulness. I know by doing so, I am showing the Lord that I am desirous to follow him and he will bless me because of my obedience.

Here are some more beautiful pictures of the Manhattan temple: