Dear friends,

“I have always thought of Christmas time ... as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.”

Dickens wrote those words through the voice of Scrooge’s nephew Fred, who pushed back against his uncle’s insistence that Christmas merely left one “a year older, but not an hour richer.” The miser’s arithmetic was impeccable, but his vision was impoverished. We stand at the threshold of an abundance that could do for humanity what Christmas does for a season.

Dear Friends,

This year found us stretching heavenward and traversing distant continents. Here's what the Association accomplished.

In-Depth Marketing Research

With the generous help of SEO and marketing guru Kurt Manwaring, the Association made a serious investment in market research to understand better which demographics resonate most strongly with our message and how best to reach them. Kurt's diligence and expertise resulted in valuable insights and a detailed plan for website and podcast content that will soon launch. Stay tuned!

Community Outreach

Interview from our forthcoming podcast recorded at the Reproductive Frontiers Summit In addition to hosting engaging monthly conversations on diverse topics like Georgism, runaway superintelligence, harmonizing faith and science, and biocomputers from our home base in Provo, we attended several events in communities with shared concerns, including a Palladium issue launch party in Washington, DC, the Reproductive Frontiers Summit in Berkeley, CA, and the Doomer Optimism Campout in Story, WY. These trips resulted in several delightful interactions: hearts were touched; minds were blown.

Dear Members of the Mormon Transhumanist Association:

We are pleased to announce the appointment of a new leadership team for the Africa Region of the Mormon Transhumanist Association:

• Screven Usi – Africa Regional President (Kenya, Nairobi Chapter)
• Samuel Osse – Africa Regional Vice President (Cameroon, Yaoundé Chapter)
• Keneth Isabyre – Africa Regional Advisor (Uganda, Kampala Chapter)

Each of these individuals has demonstrated outstanding leadership, initiative, and commitment to the Association’s values and goals. We trust they will continue to contribute meaningfully in their new roles.

We invite all members to extend a warm welcome to the new leaders and offer your support as they begin their service. Their involvement marks a new phase of development and collaboration across the region.

The Mormon Transhumanist Association announces the results of recent director elections. The following individuals have been elected as the new directors (listed in alphabetical order by first name, not by amount of votes received):

• Christopher Bradford
• Joseph West
• Steven Christiansen

It is anticipated that all three will transition into their new term this month.

We wish to congratulate the new directors and look forward to their service. We also extend our sincere thanks to the other nominees for their continued support and willingness to serve.

MTAConf 2025 will take place on October 18, 2025 in Provo, Utah. More details can be found on the conference website.

The field of neuroscience is evolving at a breathtaking pace, driven by interdisciplinary efforts that merge biology, engineering, and computational science. Innovations such as brain–machine interfaces now translate neural signals into commands for robotic limbs, offering new hope for restoring mobility in individuals with paralysis. At the same time, breakthroughs in connectomics and high-resolution imaging are revealing the intricate wiring of neuronal circuits and the ways in which these networks govern both behavior and disease. Researchers have expanded their focus beyond neurons to include glial cells, whose roles in inflammation and synaptic support are proving essential for understanding and potentially treating disorders. Additionally, the development of brain organoids from human stem cells is providing unprecedented models for studying neurodevelopmental disorders and designing personalized treatments. Complementary approaches—ranging from the promising effects of psychedelics on brain connectivity to the analytical power of computational neuroscience and AI—are deepening our understanding of neural network function, dysfunction, and repair, while emerging fields like the gut–brain axis, advanced neuroimaging, and precision medicine continue to broaden the horizon of what is possible.

Dear Friends and Fellow Supporters of the Mormon Transhumanist Association,

I look back in awe at the dramatic changes that we have witnessed in the past year. There has been rapid progress in the field of artificial intelligence, both in improved performance on existing benchmarks and in the application of AI to new domains of creativity and scientific research. The ARC AGI tests, which were created in 2019 to test AI on problems that require abstract reasoning and are easy for humans but difficult for large language models, began the year with the best publicly-available LLMs hardly passing a single test. Earlier this month, OpenAI announced that their new high-compute o3 model has passed 87.5% of the 1,000 tasks in the entire ARC-AGI corpus.

Even the baseline AI tools that are now freely available to the public are exceptional in their ability to educate and assist humanity, irrespective of nationality, gender, color or creed. AI is also being applied to a host of challenging problems in important fields like energy, material science, medicine, robotics, and even more exotic areas of research, like deciphering the languages of plants and animals.

The Mormon Transhumanist Association announces the results of recent director elections. The following individuals received the four greatest number of votes and will become the new directors (listed in alphabetical order by first name, not by amount of votes received):

• Caleb Jones
• Nathan Hadfield
• Dan Moore
• N'guessan Kouassi

It is anticipated that all four will transition into their new term starting May 1, 2024.

We wish to congratulate the new directors and look forward to their service. We also extend our sincere thanks to the other nominees for their continued support and willingness to serve.

MTAConf 2024: The Glory of God Is Intelligence, explored cutting-edge developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning through the unique lens of Mormon theology. Held on April 13th in Provo, Utah, the day-long event featured keynote speeches from renowned experts Benjamin Peters and Irina Rish alongside presentations by members and invited guests. Topics spanned the technological frontiers of AI like large language models, computer vision, and neural networks, as well as the profound philosophical and spiritual implications for consciousness, agency, creativity, and human flourishing. Presenters grappled with heady questions around the nature of intelligence, ethics and existential risk, value alignment, the simulation hypothesis, theosis and human exaltation in relation to superintelligence. Throughout, Mormon transhumanist perspectives offered unique theological insights into how embracing science and technological progress can be a deeply religious, even sacred pursuit.

View the archives here.

Earlier this month, Elder Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued guiding principles for the appropriate use of artificial intelligence that align with gospel teachings. These principles emphasize maintaining spiritual connection, transparency, privacy, security, and accountability when utilizing AI.

The Association welcomes the responsible development and ethical application of AI, which can be seen as an effort to expand human intelligence and agency—key aspects of our divine potential and eternal progression. As we extend our faculties through AI, we are following the injunction to continue seeking light, truth, and intelligence, which the scriptures declare is the “glory of God.” (D&C 93:36)

Provo, UT – The Association is proud to announce its highly anticipated annual conference, MTAConf 2024, slated for April 13th at the Marriott Hotel and Convention Center in Provo, Utah. Themed “The Glory of God Is Intelligence,” the conference is poised to delve deep into the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning on society, ethics, and the future of humanity.