"Mormon Transhumanism" by Lincoln Cannon

Lincoln Cannon

I am proud to call myself A second generation Mormon transhumanist.

My earliest memories of the MTA include one night at a discussion group. Back when they were at Lincoln’s house, where I got in trouble for starting a pillow fight. And after that, shortly after that, they decided not to have young people at the discussions as much.

Since then, I’ve loved participating in the monthly meetups. My mind has expanded every time I go. I’ve cried every year reading and watching the transhumanist advent at Christmastime. I’ve sung in the MTA Barbershop Quartet. And I’ve poured over our conference talks, our blog posts. Most recently, I’ve been looking at the Mormon Transhumanist Affirmation pretty closely. It’s strong stuff.

We are disciples of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is to trust in, change toward, and fully immerse our bodies and minds in the role of Christ. To become compassionate creators as exemplified and invited by Jesus.

We understand the gospel to be compatible with and complementary to many religions and philosophies. Particularly, those that provoke strenuous pursuit of compassionate and creative exaltation.

We seek the spiritual and physical exaltation of individuals and their anatomies, as well as communities and their environments. according to their wills, desires, and laws, to the extent they are not oppressive.

We believe that scientific knowledge and technological power are among the means ordained of God to enable such exaltation. including realization of diverse prophetic visions of transfiguration, immortality, resurrection, renewal of this world, and the discovery and creation of worlds without end.

We feel a duty to use science and technology according to wisdom and inspiration, to identify and prepare for risks and responsibilities associated with future advances, and to persuade others to do likewise.

We practice our discipleship when we offer friendship, that all may be many in one when we receive truth, let it come from whence it may and when we send relief, consolation, and healing that raises each other together.

Every member of the MTA affirms these words, as well as the Transhumanist Declaration. We believe in this stuff.

The MTA’s purpose is to promote the Transhumanist Declaration and the Mormon Transhumanist Affirmation. And with good reason.

Imagine the future we propose: an end to violence, fear, and death, replaced by resurrection, atonement, And infinitely increasing knowledge, power, joy, and love.

I’ve been inspired, and I share this stuff with my friends and family often. So have many of you. And it’s exciting to talk about the future in this way and to draw connections between science and religion. But it shouldn’t end there.

To what end do we preach? Why do we invite others to come partake of the MTA? Why is the mission of the MTA to promote these ideas? I submit that it is so that we will live by them, and together build Zion.

Our gospel cannot be passively received, or it would never be fulfilled. Our prophecies should not simply be foretellings, but fourth tellings. We should strive to bring about our hopes. We should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and not only in the speculation of it.

As Don Bradley said, if you are eager for the work of exaltation, of creating worlds, you need not wait. It begins here.

We live in an exciting time. With advances in science and technology and new rises in religion, things once defined as miracles are now commonplace and understood by children. We’re not far from living in a world of artificial general intelligence, affordable genetic editing, mind enhancement, and immortality. We have a ways to go on our trek to Zion, but with the destination in mind, it’s only a matter of time.

To build a city of Zion populated by a post-human body of Christ, we need to develop in knowledge, power, and love alongside each other. Our heaven is defined by the people in it, and we need every willing hand to build Zion.

What stands between you as you are now and the divine potential you have yet to realize. Perhaps it is a higher standard of health, or a more thorough education, or an increase in charity.

What stands between other people and their divine potential yet to be realized? Perhaps it is a higher standard of health, or a more thorough education, or an increase in charity.

We will not fulfill our discipleship without taking steps together to Godward.

Now, the MTA is systemically best suited for advocacy. We don’t have the structure to directly address the problems of the world, at least not yet. We are currently in the process of creating opportunities within the MTA and exploring new ways that the MTA can engage more directly. However, nothing is stopping you or me or any of us from wrestling with the monsters of our day and days to come, now.

In Embracing Irradiant Mormonism, Richard Bushman suggests that the biggest impact the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has had is in the influence of its membership. The contributions they’ve made in business, scholarship, philanthropy, technology, and the arts are vast and varied. I think we can apply this to ourselves, and perhaps, being conscious of the phenomenon, we can better use it.

We all have different strengths and weaknesses and different approaches to building Zion. Some of us may feel a little less suited to the task than others. I think our diversity is something we can really be proud of and maybe even put to use.

Look around you. There are programmers, engineers, professors, students, parents, doctors, writers, activists, and artists. Think of your friends and family and their talents and passions. The future is going to depend on how we presently use our skills, time, and resources. We have great aspirations, and it will take great collaborative efforts to fulfil them.

I would love to see the membership of the MTA working with each other often, even if it’s just two or three gathered together.

Here are a few first steps that could help us in our formative efforts to transfigure ourselves and others into Christ. and our world into Zion. All of these things can be done as an individual or an ensemble, and they can all start being done today.

Become familiar with religious and transhumanist ideas, genealogy, and important conversations from the past and those that are going on right now. Envision Zion in specific ways and reflect on Christ often. We can look to past conferences. And outside our own sphere, to places like the Christian Transhumanist Association, other religious transhumanist organizations, Foresight Institute, Humanity Plus, and many others. Many of us are already doing this one.

Engage in important dialogue. Invite others to study as you have. Write blogs, comments, letters to government officials, books and articles. Make artwork and music. Talk about this stuff at home, at work, at school, and church. Invite your friends to come and see.

If you’re unsure as to how to go about bringing up these topics with others I can recommend my dad’s talk, Wise as Serpents, Harmless as Doves, from the 2012 MTA Conference, which offers a few tips on handling conversations with non-members. I think many of us are also doing pretty well here.

There are many opportunities to serve. For the short or the long term, for the skilled and the unskilled, there are many causes where your time is far more valuable than your money. We’re brainstorming as an association for projects we can sponsor, but you don’t have to wait for the MTA to launch something. Look for and pray for opportunities to lift the hands that hang down. Especially here in Utah, just serve as a great place to find ways. To lift others’ burdens. There are hundreds of opportunities within ten miles of this conference alone.

Additionally, you can filter You can filter these projects to find ones that let you use your talents. There are countless opportunities to serve within our spheres of influence. Our service to the world is our most communicable of our good qualities. I think this is an area in which many of us could stand to improve.

Many of us have been drawn to the MTA because it values our skill sets. and encourages us to use them. We have such potential in this community for good work. Look for opportunities throughout your career and education to advance the cause.

I found an organization called 80,000 Hours that offers career planning so that you can have the biggest impact to the causes you believe in through your work. They also have a job board listing several openings around the world for interns, research fellows, developers, engineers, managers, etc. that you could fill. Becoming conscious of the difference we can make through our work can drive us to new heights of achievement.

I prophesy that this generation shall live to see a day in the near future When religious transhumanists contribute to policy and government, technological advancement, education, literature and art in remarkable world shifting ways.

Many of the advances of technology we all enjoy have yet to reach many people around the world. Additionally, research into many potential existential risks requires funding. There is a fear that the future will be bleak for those who are already behind. I say that the best way to prepare for and prevent the dystopian futures we dread is to live with charity today.

We should demonstrate to the world the promise of advanced technology by showing the blessings wrought by today’s tools There are ways that we can influence countless lives.

To learn how to give well, I’d recommend looking into a movement called Effective Altruism. It is a movement made up of groups that encourage giving to the most effective and efficient causes. They also promote an altruistic forward-thinking lifestyle. And though they have their shortcomings, which I would recommend becoming familiar with, it’s a great place to start.

The Life You Can Save has calculators on their website. That helps you determine how much you could give based on your income and your country’s taxes, and what kind of an impact your donations could have for different causes. Some of my favorites include a sight restoring or giving surgery that costs $50 and the deworming of a child for 50 cents.

The Center for Effective Altruism has a great donation page with detailed descriptions of each cause they recommend. Many of these causes are existential risk prevention. like preventing engineered pandemics, addressing global climate change, and developing AGI. Reasons for and against donating to these different causes, and a tool to help you divide your donation among your choices.

Giving what we can lets you try giving, where you decide on a percentage of your income that you’re willing to give to any charities of your choice. You don’t have to pick ones that they offer on their website. and you decide how long your contract will be, and then they will occasionally ask where you gave and why. If you’re feeling particularly brave, then you can also sign the pledge to give at least 10% of your income to the causes you believe will have the biggest impact.

We should be examples of thoughtful, liberal giving. As many of us are aware, some of the greatest potential for good lies in developing technologies. This will, in my opinion, and should look different for everyone, where we give and how we give.

These suggestions are not novel. This list is not exhaustive. There are many ways we can start implementing atonement with our brothers and sisters and parents and children.

My prayer is that every action taken, every word spoken, every wish held will be with the vision of this peculiar people in mind. We are to fulfill prophecy. Save ourselves with all our dead, and build Zion.

Mormon transhumanists affirm a duty to expand the work of Christ before us with what means we have. and to realize greater means to even greater works. In this lone and dreary world our hands are stretched out still.

We reach to the prodigal, the blind, the mute, the deaf, the lame. the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, the alien, the fearful, the unseen, the outcast, the forgotten, even the dead

It is possible that years from now, when we awake from our sleep of death, the hands that lift us will be familiar. When those gods embrace us and say, Come, ye blessed of our mothers and fathers, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

For we were hungered, and you gave us meat. We were thirsty, and you gave us drink. We were strangers, and you took us in. Naked, and ye clothed us. We were sick, and ye visited us. We were in prison, and ye came unto us.

We will recognize our Redeemers as the children of those we lifted. Thank you.