Sunday, May 20, 2012

If You Could Hie to Kolob

When my brother returned home from his mission, we asked him what his favorite hymn was. (Since that's all he could listen to for two years) He quickly responded, "If You Could Hie to Kolob."

We were all pretty surprised since its not a very well-known hymn and we almost never sing it in church. To be honest, at the time I couldn't even recall what the tune was or if I had ever sung it.

Boy, was I missing out.

My new favorite hymn is also, If You Could Hie to Kolob. It is the most beautiful song. The melody, the words, all of it. This morning I listened to it on repeat while I got ready for church. And since I have no shame, I will admit this. I actually had to ask Nick "what Kolob was." He explained, which of course sparked my interest even more. A star where God resides - although an incredibly thought-provoking aspect of the song, not necessarily the only thing you can get out of it.

I am no scriptorian. I do not understand everything about the church that I belong to. However, I believe it. Some people may describe that as ignorance, maybe even stupidity, but I like to call it faith. Things I cannot comprehend or understand completely, but that I know to be true. I cannot explain much about Kolob besides the literal definition of it, but I believe the song written by W. W. Phelps is about so much more than a planet. It doesn't matter where God may reside, what matters is that he is everywhere, and in everything that is good, pure, and just. And what matters absolute most, is that I want to be wherever God may be. I don't care where that is, I just want to be there with everyone I know and love.


3. The works of God continue, And worlds and lives abound;
Improvement and progression Have one eternal round.
There is no end to matter; There is no end to space;
There is no end to spirit; There is no end to race.

4. There is no end to virtue; There is no end to might;
There is no end to wisdom; There is no end to light.
There is no end to union; There is no end to youth;
There is no end to priesthood; There is no end to truth.

5. There is no end to glory; There is no end to love;
There is no end to being; There is no death above.
There is no end to glory; There is no end to love;
There is no end to being; There is no death above.

Have you ever read anything so beautiful? I see now why my brother loves this song so much. 

Here is a good version if you want to listen:


I normally don't get too personal on the blog, nor do I try to push my religion on others. But that doesn't mean that I don't believe in sharing it. I guess my blog isn't a way that I feel most comfortable about sharing something so sacred to me. 
Regardless of how you feel about religion, or Mormons for that matter, it doesn't change the fact that God is real.

I know it. 

And I just felt impressed to say that on the blog. I don't care if you are religious or not, but if you are my friend/parent/sibling/husband/daughter/grandparent/cousin/acquaintance/complete stranger I just want you to hear that I know God is real, tangible, and living. 

"There is no end to glory; There is no end to love;
There is no end to being; There is no death above."

Through God, all things are possible.


















Even kicking cancer's trash. 

3 comments:

Grandma Cher said...

Perfect Sunday Blog!! Thanks for sharing your faith and testimony with all of us. That is a beautiful song too.

Rachel Elder said...

My junior year of high school my seminary teacher taught us about this song for the whole class period because it was his favorite. I love this song! So beautiful. Thanks for sharing today:)

jennica said...

This was beautiful Syd! I love the version you picked. It's crazy how strong you can feel the spirit through music. Thanks for sharing!