One of my favorite hymns is “If You Could Hie to Kolob.” I love how it speaks of some of our least understood and least talked about beliefs. It shines a light on the author's thoughts and questions not only on the beginning of creation itself, but how it all works. It then goes on to describe the personal revelation the author received while thinking on these things. What is laid out by this hymn is absolutely fascinating.
The song starts out mysteriously, talking about traveling from Earth to Kolob, the star that is closest to God (Abraham 3:2-3) “in the twinkling of an eye.” In other words, traveling much faster than light speed. Seeing that it takes eight minutes for light from our sun to travel to Earth, traveling instantly from Earth to a star in an unknown part of the universe would be impossibly fast. It goes on to talk about traveling at post-light speed infinitely backwards through time to go to see the beginning of, well, everything. As the author puts it, to “see the grand beginning.” (emphasis added) I can’t help but feel excitement at the idea. Just the idea that there was a place where “space did not extend” is fascinating. Space and time are what make up the fabric of our universe. If they do “not extend,” then we are left with literally nothing. It is hard to wrap your mind around the idea.
The listener is then immediately shot forward into the future at the same impossible speed. We are invited to consider “the last creation, where Gods and matter end[.]” We are then gently brought back to now. The Holy Ghost reveals to the author that no mortal has ever witnessed such a place.
The rest of the song is a testimony about the work of eternal creation. This is where my favorite line comes in, “The works of God continue / And worlds and lives abound.” Can you imagine? I’ve never considered myself an outer space enthusiast, but I can’t help but be excited by the idea of life on other worlds. Not just life, but life that was created by our God through Jesus Christ.
In Moses chapter one, Heavenly Father is talking to Moses about all of His creations, including other worlds. He says, “And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten” (Moses 1:33) He goes on to say, “But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you… (Moses 1:35, emphasis added) I feel like this is such an important phrase. When God says, “this earth and the inhabitants thereof” He is saying that the other worlds he has created are also inhabited.
The song’s next verse is comforting to me. It says, “Improvement and progression/Have one eternal round.” To me this is a promise that you don’t have to be perfect today, tomorrow or even next week. We are invited to better ourselves over time.
The hymn goes on to say that many things are never ending. The first of those things is “matter.” Here the song appears to contradict itself. Just a few verses ago it talks about a place “where Gods and matter end.” In my opinion (and trust me, this is just my thoughts on the subject, not Church doctrine) that this matter can be solved with a bit of mathematics. You see there can be infinites within infinity. If you take two numbers on a number line, let's just say one and two, there can be infinite points in between them. Right after number one you can have 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and so on. In fact, you can place any number of numbers, even an infinite number of them behind the 1. and it would still fit on the number line between one and two. Here we can see that there can be an infinity within an infinity. Therefore, matter may end in one particular place in space, but it goes on in others. And since “There is no end to space,” matter could continue to go on in the infinity of space forever.
By far the most uplifting part of the song comes in the final stanzas of the hymn. It is here we are told that there is no ending to “virtue” and “love.” That goodness and purity can be found not just within our own universe, but it is limitless throughout the many universes beyond it. “[W]isdom,” “light,” and “truth” are also limitless. As mentioned in an earlier verse, “Improvement and progression/Have one eternal round.” All around us are opportunities to learn and grow. And those opportunities will continue with us through eternity.
By far the most important message of the song is found in the very last stanza: “There is no end to being;/There is no death above.” This sentiment is repeated twice. The author leaves us his testimony that while our mortal bodies may die, our spirits will live on. That through the Atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we all will rise again.
“If You Could Hie to Kolob” is one of my favorite hymns not just because of the amazing ideas that it gives us, but because of the doctrines it teaches and the comfort they give. We may not talk about them very often, but it does not make them any less important. If anything, this makes the message of the hymn even more important, so that we can be reminded of these truths.
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