In
his poetic rendition of D&C 76 (informed, in part, by revelation after February
1832) addressed to W.W. Phelps, Joseph Smith clearly refuted the naïve belief,
common among many LDS I have encountered, that “Kolob” in the Book of Abraham is
the person of Jesus. Instead, in the seventh stanza, he clearly understood Kolob
to be a literal place (where the divine council took place), not a person, let
alone Jesus:
7. From the councils
in Kolob, to time on the earth.
And for ages to come unto them I will show
My pleasure & will, what my kingdom will do:
Eternity’s wonders they truly shall know.
Some may claim that as Kolob is said to “signify”
“the first creation, nearest to the celestial, or the residence of God,” and as
Jesus was the firstborn, Kolob = Jesus. However, note that the interpretation offered
in facsimile 2 (the Hypocephalus) says that Kolob signifies such, not
that it is such. An analogy may be helpful: the Irish flag signifies Ireland,
it is not Ireland.
Note the following from Joseph Fielding McConkie, who was very conservative, and how he understood Kolob to be symbolic of Jesus:
The Pearl of Great Price
Let us turn now to the third chapter of the book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price as our second illustration. The chapter recounts how Abraham through the use of the Urim and Thummim had the heavens opened to him that he might learn about the glory and revolutions of the sun, moon, and stars. This is the chapter in which we learn about Kolob, the planet nearest the throne of God, and the other great heavenly bodies that are near to it. Midway through the chapter the subject changes and we find ourselves reading about the nature of spirits before they were born into mortality. The chapter concludes with a brief account of the Grand Council in Heaven, at which Satan rebelled.
What is generally missed in the reading of the chapter is the phrase "as, also" in verse 18, which ties the revelation on stars to the revelation on spirits. Here we discover the reason for giving the great patriarch the revelation on stars. The knowledge of astronomy is not essential to salvation, but the knowledge of the order of the government of heaven is. When Abraham was learning about Kolob he was really learning about Christ, for Kolob is the similitude of Christ, and the stars are in the likeness of the spirits. We are told that Kolob was the first created, the nearest to the throne of God, and thus the greatest of all the stars. Kolob is described as being "after the manner" or in the likeness of God, as being first in government, and as governing all those of the same order. Though there are many great ones near it, all receive their light from Kolob and it is Kolob, we are told, that holds the key of power. (Abraham 3; Facsimile 2.) In virtually every detail Kolob is described in the same prophetic language that is used to describe Christ, and the stars are described in language that parallels that used by Abraham to describe the spirits. (Joseph Fielding McConkie, Gospel Symbolism [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1985], 7-8)
Further Reading
Answering Cecil Andrews on "Kolob" in the Book of Abraham
Reviews of The Kolob Theorem