More than a century before "Star Trek" or "Star Wars," in 1856, the hymn's author, William W. Phelps, created a tune about outer space, vast distances, eternity and infinity.
The hymn begins with the premise of a person traveling to Kolob (nearest star to God's residence) "in the twinkling of an eye," (faster even than warp drive, or light speed) and then alluding that even with such vast velocity that one could still not find the beginnings of eternity and the universe (as the universe is limitless and unending).
Of all the concepts in existence, "eternity" or "limitless" are perhaps concepts that mortal man just cannot fully comprehend!
The first verse also states "Gods" in the plural, as an endless chain of generations of "God the Fathers" (alluding to LDS belief in plurality of Gods).
No other hymn in the church delves into such deep doctrine.
The hymn also uses various scriptural terms, like "one eternal round," to state how the universe and Gods continue to expand in endless harmony, on continuing cycles of existence.
The hymn stresses that no one can see outside the curtains that God has put in place (probably meaning we cannot see outside the bounds of what God lets us see in the universe).
"There is no end to matter: There is no end to space; "There is no end to spirit; There is no end to race (or mankind)," Verse 3 states.
Later verses continue to stress the limitless nature of other factors too, like light, priesthood, love, virtue, truth, youth, wisdom and more.
The hymn concludes by declaring there is no end to being or (life) and that death does not exist "above" (meaning beyond mortal life).
You could almost have a course of meta physics on the verses of this hymn.
Now, I've noted a few shortcomings in this hymn in past blog posts. For example, "Hie" is probably not doctrinally correct, as in Old English, it means "to quickly, hasten, hurry," according to Webster's Dictionary. "Hie" is also NOT found in the Book of Abraham.
"Nigh" means "nearly, almost," according to Webster. "Nigh" is found in the Book of Abraham.So, the title of the hymn to be more correct should likely be "Nigh unto Kolob" (also the title of this blog).
But, wait, there's more -- in the third line of the first verse, it states about "continue onward" (beyond Kolob). Thus, for complete accuracy, the title and premise of the song should be "Nigh beyond Kolob," as Kolob is NOT the ultimate destination mentioned in the hymn.
It is likely that too many church members appear to incorrectly believe Kolob is WHERE God actually dwells.
In fact, Kolob is simply the name of a great star that is NEAREST where God dwells (Abraham 3:3) and not actually the place where God dwells.
(We are given no specific name as to God's residence, except perhaps highest level of the Celestial Kingdom.)
How many singers of this hymn actually ponder the words in the verses?
(None in Spanish do, as this hymn is NOT in that version of the LDS Hymn book...)
-William Phelps wrote dozens of other early LDS hymns too. He was also excommunication a few times, but always returned to the church. He was a gifted poet and his poetic language is visible in his works. "The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning" is perhaps his other, most famous of hymns.
-In addition, there was an astronomical observatory located on Temple Square, for decades -- right next to the Salt Lake Temple -- confirming the church's strong interest in outer space, especially in the 19th Century.
NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.
