AboutGene Black Expertise I can answer questions related to LDS beliefs and history as well as doctrinal questions pertaining to the standard works (Bible, Book of Mormon, etc.) I believe strongly in personal revelation and hope that all answers I provide will be carefully considered, and prayed about before being accepted.
Experience I've been a member of the LDS Church all of my life, have served a mission for the Church, have been sealed to my wife in the Washington, DC temple, and enjoy reading books on LDS history and the teachings of the prophets.
Organizations The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Education/Credentials A love for people and a strong desire to seek after the word of God. I try hard to follow the command "Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men."
Question I love the melody and the first two verses to the hymn "If You Could Hie to Kolob." But I am baffled by the word "race" at the end of the third verse. Evidently others are too because I have been asked by missionaries not to schedule this hymn in our Sacrament Meetings.
What is really meant? And is there some other phrase or word that might be substituted in the next edition of the hymnal?
Answer Well, for starters, I don't represent the Church in any official capacity at all here, and what I'm about to share is my personal opinion on the matter. The only time it should be considered "official" at all is when I quote from official sources. Given that it's my opinion, you should decide for yourself whether or not I'm correct.
Here's my personal take on it:
Some people in the church, for whatever reason seem to feel a need to shy away from or apologize for some of the doctrine. Some of the doctrine tends to be viewed as "deep" doctrine when really there are no deep doctrines. The true doctrines of the church are simple once understood and meant to be understood by all (within the Church) though it is true that they need to be learned line upon line, precept upon precept. When building a house, windows don't make any sense until the walls are up. I note that Joseph Smith never seemed to shy away from these doctrines though sometimes he did indicate the need for some basics to be covered first. When someone brings you a "deep" or difficult to understand doctrine you can be assured that it's either false, or it's not properly understood.
This particular hymn contains many doctrines that some may consider "deep". There is no need to think of them as such if you're willing to do a little study and reading. The doctrines in this hymn Joseph Smith taught quite clearly in a number of places - and this is actually one of the key reasons I love his teachings so much - Joseph had a real gift to be able to take what appears to be a complicated subject and explain it so simply that a child could understand - this stems partially from how well he understood these doctrines himself.
One of the quotes I cherish from Joseph Smith is the following:
“A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he will be brought into captivity by some evil power in the other world, as evil spirits will have more knowledge, and consequently more power than many men who are on the earth. Hence it needs revelation to assist us, and give us knowledge of the things of God.”
This teaches us several things, two key items of which I'd like to hit on:
1. We must gain knowledge to be saved. It is the responsibility of every member of the Church to not only attend church, pay their tithing, fulfill their church responsibilities, etc. but to seek knowledge - to seek a full, proper, and correct understanding of the Gospel in every point. This is part of why Church leaders urge us so strongly to have daily scripture study.
2. To gain this knowledge, we must have help (which is why I clarified above when I said these doctrines were "meant to be understood by all" by adding "within the church"). This help comes in the form of inspiration (or revelation) through the Holy Ghost. This is part of why baptism is such an important ordinance. During the laying on of hands or the "baptism of fire" you receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Note that during that ordinance you are told to "receive the Holy Ghost" - it is your responsibility to both conduct yourself in such a way that you will be sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, and also to active seek inspiration from the Holy Ghost. This is the key of knowledge to help you understand the Gospel. Without the help of the Holy Ghost, you cannot properly understand the things of God. Before baptism, people have what's often referred to as the "light of Christ" or inspiration which also comes through the Holy Ghost, but they do not have an actual tangible right to the constant compainionship of the Holy Ghost. For the most part, inspirations received at that time will serve to lead them to the Church and confirm the truth of the things they are taught. Unless they act on those promptings by being baptized they cannot expect to receive more than what they have not yet accepted. There would be no point in it.
Now, back to Hieing to Kolob. The section you were questioning I believe reads:
"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."
Taken in context, this makes perfect sense. The point of a large part of this hymn is the eternities - how there is an endless amount of:
1. Matter;
2. Space in which to place it;
3. Spirit in the sense that the universe is filled with innumerable intelligences and spirits;
4. Men of which there is an unending effort to organize and help each and every being progress as far as it is willing.
"one eternal round" refers to this never ending cycle.
"Wolds and lives abound" is a reference to the unending number of worlds God has created and lives a reference to the people He has populated them with.
"matter" is a reference to physical matter,
"space" a reference to the never ending reaches of space (as in outer space),
"spirit" to the never ending number of intelligences that have been organized and given spirit bodies (as you were before you were born),
and "no end to race" is a reference to the never ending race of mankind peopling these worlds - the sons and daughters of God.
We know that we are eternal. Even as God continually provides physical bodies for spirits as He has done here, these physical bodies live forever - true, they do pass through death, but then they are resurrected to a perfect form in time and exist forever - there is no end.
Now the missionaries who requested the song not be sung may have perhaps felt unprepared to answer questions about it, unfamiliar with the doctrine themselves due to lack of study, or simply felt fear that the unfamiliar doctrines contained in the song might prevent some from joining the Church. If so, perhaps they also forgot it is the Spirit of God, not man that teaches these precious potential converts the truths of the Gospel. It is the Spirit of God that changes hearts and confirms in a way no mortal man can that these things are indeed true.
To learn more about these doctrines for yourself, I would refer you to all of the writings of Joseph Smith. "Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith" by Burton, or "Scriptural Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith" would both be good places to start (though there are numerous other good books as well. You'll probably want to pay special attention to the King Follett Discourse. You can find a copy of that here:
It's also available for purchase from www.deseretbook.com and some other places.
As for changing the wording of the Hymn, you'd have to ask the First Presidency of the Church about that one, but I would very much doubt there are any changes forthcoming. The wording doesn't need changing, but it may be that some people need understanding (Proverbs 4:7) so that the hymn can be better appreciated for the beautiful piece that it is.
