Spaceships, interstellar travel, laser guns—all sci-fi staples, all delivered in 1978 to American living rooms by Battlestar Galactica. Created by Glen Larson, the television series followed a group of human survivors, referred to as Colonials, fleeing a genocidal attack by the robotic Cylons in search of a legendary refuge: Earth.

For many Latter-day Saints, Battlestar Galactica resonates in unexpectedly familiar ways. Larson was a practicing Latter-day Saint and wove his beliefs into the bones of his creation. Though Larson (mostly) avoided overt scriptural or doctrinal references, the influence of the restored gospel is unmistakable in the show’s lore. While the 2003 reboot would later reinterpret the story with a darker tone and post--9/11 moral ambiguity, it’s the original series that carries unmistakable fingerprints of Latter-day Saint theology.

Kolob by Any Other Name

In Battlestar Galactica, the birthplace of all humanity is called Kobol, a sacred origin planet where divine knowledge was once shared with mankind. It is from this place that humanity spread to the stars.

Sound familiar? The name is widely believed to be an anagram of “Kolob,” a star or governing celestial body referenced in The Pearl of Great Price. According to the Book of Abraham, Kolob is "the great one... nearest unto the throne of God," and "governs all those which belong to the same order" as the earth. While Kolob represents divine governance and proximity to God, and Kobol functions as a mythic homeland, both are sacred places tied to origin, higher knowledge, and eternal purpose.

Humanity thus descends from Kobol and is organized into Twelve Colonies of Man, each with its own identity and a seat on a governing body called the Council of the Twelve. This name echoes the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The Twelve Colonies also resemble the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

The parallels don’t stop there. When the Twelve Colonies are attacked by the Cylons, the surviving remnant becomes humanity’s fragmented but hopeful future. This band of survivors is led by Commander Adama aboard the Battlestar Galactica, a warship turned Noah's Ark-like colony ship. Adama, like Adam, becomes the father figure of a scattered people seeking a promised land. He is responsible for safely conducting them to the fabled lost Thirteenth Colony of Earth, where they will be able to establish a new home. Like his namesake, the Biblical Adam, he leads all mankind in a quest for survival and the (re)population of the human species.

Commander Adama also mirrors Adam’s pre-mortal role as Michael the Archangel, leading a righteous remnant in a cosmic battle for survival. The Cylons—robotic antagonists bent on humanity’s destruction—are aided by a human traitor named Baltar, who is, in turn, advised by a robotic figure named Lucifer—an unsubtle reference that casts the conflict in more than just technological terms. It’s Adam/Adama vs. Lucifer; free-willed humans vs. deterministic machines; mortality vs. spiritual stagnation.

The Gospel According to Galactica

Even some non-Mormons pick up on the more obvious connections, like Kolob and Adam. But Larson’s allusions went beyond just subtle winks to fellow Latter-day Saints; throughout the series, deeper similarities to Latter-day Saint beliefs emerge again and again.

One of the series’ central spiritual artifacts is the Book of the Word, a text revered by some Colonials and dismissed by others. It tells of Earth, records ancient truths, and offers prophecies that guide the ragtag refugee fleet in its journey through the stars.

The parallels to scripture, particularly the Book of Mormon, are hard to miss. Like those scriptural peoples, the Colonials must decide whether to heed prophetic warnings or trust in the arm of flesh. And, like modern scripture for Latter-day Saints, the Book of the Word becomes a guiding light through uncertainty and danger.

Other borrowed beliefs include their practices concerning marriage. When two of the characters are wedded, the marriage is described as “not only for now, but for all the eternities.” The wedding is even called a sealing! Commander Adama performs the marriage, mirroring the role of an authoritative priesthood holder in sealing a couple “for time and all eternity.”

Echoes of Our Eternal Journey

Even with references like Kobol, Adama, and the Book of the Word, some might say Battlestar Galactica is just another Star Wars ripoff about spaceships and gunfights, humans and robots. But beneath the surface lies something deeper: a scattered people seeking home, a fallen world searching for hope, and a belief in a divine destiny.

According to the show's lore, before the time of the Twelve Colonies, all mankind lived on the planet Kobol. But when that world began to collapse, they were forced to evacuate and settle among the stars. The place first to fall? The chief city, known as Eden. In a sense, the fall in Eden brought about the separation of all mankind from their home on Kobol.

During the bulk of the Battlestar Galactica series, the Colonials are searching for a better world. They are not wandering aimlessly; they have a destination, given to them by ancient scripture.

We, too, are on a journey, from a pre-mortal homeland to a post-mortal belonging. We are in a probationary state in between, where we must prepare to meet God.

While our “in-between” state looks very different from the experience of the Colonials in search of Earth, it feels much the same: a tale of divine identity where mortals are meant for something greater than their current circumstances.

Battlestar Galactica reminds us that humanity has an origin and a purpose. Latter-day Saints know this even more deeply: we are literal children of God, with divine roots and an eternal future.

As a group of angels encountered by the crew of the Battlestar Galactica explain: "As you are, we once were, as we are, you may become.” Like Mormonr? Sign up for our newsletter to receive updates on the latest blog posts, Q&As, and Mormonr projects.