The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has no official position on what or where Kolob is.¹ Many scholars and members of the church say or imply that Kolob is a world distinct from this earth.² That does not mean, however, that Kolob is not also the spirit world within this earth. Every inward spirit body,³ including the inward spirit of every human, is distinct from its exterior physical body.⁴ Since Kolob was and is a celestial spirit world,⁵ it is necessarily distinct from its outer physical world.⁶ With the aid of the Urim and Thummim,⁷ Abraham looked back in time⁸ and saw Kolob as the premortal world of spirit for this earth before the earth's physical creation.⁹ He did so in the same way that he looked back in Abraham 3:22-23, and saw his own premortal spirit among the many noble and great spirits that were organized long before his own mortal birth.¹⁰

Like all other physical worlds, this earth has an inward world of spirit¹¹ that gives life to its physical elements.¹² There is no good reason that explains why Kolob should not be the life-giving spirit world within this earth, but there are at least eight compelling reasons why it is, as follows:

1. Abraham 3, verses 3 and 9, state that Kolob and earth belong to the same order or generation of creation.¹³ Since this is true, Kolob qualifies to be the spirit world within this earth. If they were not of the same order, this discussion would end before it begins. More importantly, Kolob and this earth share the same reckoning of time.¹⁴ Until the fall of Adam, time on earth was reckoned according to the celestial time¹⁵ of Kolob.¹⁶ God's reckoning of time differs for different worlds according to the measure of their intelligence, which also dictates their proximity to God's throne. Hence, in Abraham Facsimile 2, Figure 1, celestial time is measured as "one day to a cubit." Thus, in Abraham 3:2, Abraham saw Kolob "nearest unto the throne of God." This means that the spirit world called Kolob shared the reckoning of the Lord's time because it was "set nigh unto the throne of God." (Abraham 3:9) This earth could only share that same reckoning of time before the fall if it also was set nigh unto the throne of God. This connection is critical to the unity of Kolob and this earth because a spirit body joined with its physical body¹⁷ must share the same reckoning of time.¹⁸ They are two parts of the same living soul.¹⁹ Other worlds have their own unique reckoning of time according to the lesser measure of their intelligence and their greater distance from the throne of God.²⁰ Their reckoning of time and distance from the throne of God is like a unique fingerprint that distinguishes them from all other worlds of the same order (generation). When this earth is resurrected, it will again be set nigh unto the throne of God with Kolob as its inward spirit and then the time of both will again be reckoned according to the celestial time of Kolob, which is also the Lord's time.²¹
2. The premortal grand council in heaven was convened on Kolob before the physical creation.²² Therefore, Kolob had to be the premortal spirit world for this earth²³ where God's spirit children were appointed to live in mortality.²⁴ Kolob–as the inward spirit world of this earth–is also the postmortal spirit world.²⁵ Disembodied spirits of the dead from this earth will therefore return to this postmortal spirit world from whence they came as premortal spirits.²⁶ Church leaders have definitively stated that the postmortal spirit world for this earth is located within this earth.²⁷ Even though Kolob is both the premortal and postmortal spirit world within this earth, the disembodied spirits of the dead from this earth do not commingle with premortal spirits of the unborn.²⁸ They exist in different dimensions.²⁹ Kolob will also be part of the celestial kingdom that celestial-worthy people of this earth will inherit and where they will dwell³⁰ after the earth is resurrected.³¹ Doctrine and Covenants Section 130:5 confirms Kolob's continuous connection to this earth and her inhabitants from premortality to postmortality, saying, "There are no angels who minister to this earth but those who do belong or have belonged to it."³² Elder Ben E. Rich said: "If you keep the faith, eternal heaven will be this globe from which your bodies were made, and it will be your Kolob forever and forever."³³ The same doctrinal truth is taught in the Latter-day Saint hymn, called If You Could Hie to Kolob.³⁴
3. Kolob is the greatest of all spirit worlds created by God the Father in his generation as evidenced by its proximity to the throne of God and its shared reckoning of time with God himself.³⁵ From the time of its spirit creation, however, Kolob was destined to descend with this earth below every other fallen physical world in this generation.³⁶ Having descended below all other worlds, this earth with Kolob as its inward spirit will be resurrected as the greatest and most glorious of all God's celestial worlds.³⁷ The scriptures confirm that when Adam fell, this earth fell with him³⁸ to become the most wicked of all God's worlds in this generation.³⁹ This physical earth must descend to be the lowest of the low in order to fill the measure of its ultimate creation⁴⁰ as the highest of the high and the First in Government.⁴¹ Kolob's descending and ascending path within this earth is typical of Christ's descending and ascending path on this earth.⁴² Jehovah was the greatest and most intelligent of all God's spirit children.⁴³ When he lived on this earth as Jesus Christ, however, he descended below all things⁴⁴ that he might be exalted above all things.⁴⁵ God's mortal children on earth can also follow the same descending and ascending path as Kolob and Christ if they live exaltation-worthy lives.⁴⁶
4. Christ performed his infinite atonement on this earth⁴⁷ for the benefit of all God's spirit children, for all physical worlds, and everything else he created.⁴⁸ This singular event⁴⁹ had to occur on the mortal world⁵⁰ that has Kolob as its inward spirit because Kolob was‒and will again become‒the presiding star in the universe.⁵¹
5. At the future gathering at Adam-ondi-Ahman,⁵² Christ will receive the keys of the universe,⁵³ which obviously transcend the limits and bounds of this earth.⁵⁴ The keys of presidency for the entire universe exist on this earth only because Kolob, as the great governing star of the universe, is also the spirit world within this earth.⁵⁵ Under the Father, Christ will personally reign from this earth⁵⁶ over the entire universe⁵⁷ as a king⁵⁸ and governor.⁵⁹ This explains why Kolob has been called First in Government since the time of its spirit creation.⁶⁰ Abraham 3:16 dualistically describes Kolob's premortal and postmortal status as the great governing star of the universe.⁶¹
6. An inseparable connection exists between Jehovah and Kolob.⁶² Owing to this connection, the firstborn spirit Son of God (Jehovah)⁶³ lived his mortal life on this earth because the first world of the spirit creation (Kolob)⁶⁴ is also the spirit world within this earth. Christ was glorified in premortality,⁶⁵ as was Kolob.⁶⁶ Jehovah was God⁶⁷ who condescended⁶⁸ to this earth to become as other men,⁶⁹ while Kolob was a glorious star that descended to become as other fallen earths.⁷⁰ When Christ died and was resurrected, he received again the glory which he had with God the Father before the world was.⁷¹ Similarly, when this earth dies and is resurrected,⁷² it will be rolled back into the presence of God⁷³ where it will shine with the same glory it possessed in premortality.⁷⁴ Only Kolob will achieve such postmortal glory as it becomes the greatest and governing light for all other worlds in the universe.⁷⁵
7. This physical earth was created near Kolob.⁷⁶ The close proximity of Kolob and the earth at the time of the physical creation is entirely logical, if not essential, because Kolob, as a spirit world, was placed inside this physical earth to give life to the earth during the seventh day of the physical creation.⁷⁷
8. Finally, if Kolob is not the spirit world within this earth, it begs the question of why the Book of Abraham even mentions Kolob. The inseparable connection between this earth and Kolob‒as the spirit world within this earth‒makes the scriptural account of Kolob a highly material matter to the residents of this earth and to the entire plan of salvation carried out on this earth.

Some people have said that Kolob cannot be the spirit world within this earth because Abraham 3 describes Kolob in the present verb tense as the greatest of all Kokaubeam (stars)⁷⁸ nearest the throne of God.⁷⁹ The present tense in Abraham 3 implies that Kolob was still a shining star or sun⁸⁰ located nearest to God's throne at the time of Abraham's vision.⁸¹ If that truly was Kolob's condition at the time of Abraham's vision, then Kolob could not be the spirit world within this earth because the earth fell away from God's presence when Adam fell.⁸² Obviously, the fall of Adam did not cause the earth to die, it merely transformed the earth from a terrestrial state into a telestial (mortal) state.⁸³ Since the earth's inward spirit remained joined to its physical element during the fall of Adam,⁸⁴ it follows that earth's physical body and its inward spirit fell away from God's throne together when Adam fell.⁸⁵ This leads to the apparent conclusion‒adopted by some‒that if Kolob was the spirit world within this fallen earth at the time of Abraham's vision, then Kolob would not have been nearest the throne of God at the time Abraham had his vision in Abraham 3.

The present verb tense in Abraham 3 does not contradict the truth that Kolob is the spirit world within this fallen earth. The present tense found in Abraham 3 is a manner of speech rather than a statement of present condition.⁸⁶ The Book of Abraham commonly speaks of events from the premortal past in both present and future terms.⁸⁷ God sees all things past, present, and future,⁸⁸ and reveals them to prophets⁸⁹ as though events from the past are part of the present.⁹⁰ Therefore, Abraham spoke of the premortal past as though it was the present. He saw Kolob as a spirit world nearest unto God before the physical creation and before the fall of Adam. Nevertheless, the scene was present before his eyes,⁹¹ just as he saw himself as one of the noble and great ones from his premortal past in Abraham 3:22-23.