"The Kolob Theorem" and similar books suggest that the Lord's kingdom is confined to the Milky Way galaxy and that our pre-mortal life was, and eventual kingdoms of glory will exist within its boundaries. This makes sense for a lot of reasons, but there are 3 major problems with it.
First, galaxies are known to collide and merge together in what is known as "Galactic Cannibalism" and our galaxy is currently on a collision course with the Andromeda galaxy. If kingdoms are separated into galaxies how would this cannibalistic behavior fit into our understanding of exaltation?
Second, the Lord told Moses “worlds without number have I created,” and then added: "innumerable are they unto man." Although the milky way has a large number of stars and planets they are not innumerable unto man. In the most generous estimates, there are 400 billion stars and 100 billion planets in our galaxy.
Third, when Abraham was shown the stars the Lord explained that the closer you get to Kolob the slower the celestial bodies will rotate. The Kolob Theorem suggests that Kolob is at the center of our galaxy and again, there is some logic to this idea. The Galactic core is packed with giant stars, much bigger than our sun, and its entire vicinity is constantly brighter than anything we can imagine. The phrase "everlasting burnings" comes to mind. And in the very center of all this is a supermassive black hole, with all the mystery and possibilities that implies. But these stars are not slowing down the closer they get to our Galactic center, they are moving much faster than even our sun is, and there is nothing that comes close to making one revolution per thousand years.
In considering the "Kolob Theorem" I'm reminded of the time when Orson Hyde suggested to Joseph Smith that the Light of Christ existed throughout the endless bounds of eternity, even throughout the unorganized universe, to which Joseph replied that the idea "appeared very beautiful and that he did not know of but one serious objection to it." "What is that?" asked Orson. Joseph replied, "it is not true." But clearly, there is something going on in the heart of our galaxy although I don't think we'll find Kolob there and I choose to trust in the phrase so often used by the late Elder Maxwell, that God is the "Lord of the Universe."
