IMAGE: PHOTO OF MICHAEL LATORRA

My friend Michael LaTorra, an ordained Zen priest and the abbot of the Zen Center of Las Cruces, New Mexico, has written a short, simple and readable introduction to Buddhist Transhumanism. The article was published in Theology and Science in April with the title “What Is Buddhist Transhumanism?”

IMAGE: PHOTO OF MTA LOGO

Dear members and friends of the Mormon Transhumanist Association,

You're invited to join me in giving a gift to the Mormon Transhumanist Association this Christmas season. We have just received an offer from another generous member to match your donation this year up to $3000!

IMAGE: PHOTO OF SHEET MUSIC

I don't know what I think about Jesus, sometimes. I'm clearly a believer -- a believer in his life, in the resurrection, in the atonement, in salvation and exaltation, in his hard moral teachings. But sometimes the ways I believe in these things seem so different from how I understood them before that some might not recognize them as Mormon.

IMAGE: PHOTO OF DISCIPLE HOLDING UP JESUS

In the scriptures we learn that the Satanic pattern is to vault oneself above all others:

IMAGE: PHOTO OF SUNSTONE WEST

Mormon Transhumanist Association board members Blaire Ostler, Carl Youngblood, Christopher Bradford, Dorothy Deasy, and Joseph West will speak at the Sunstone West Symposium in Berkeley CA on 30 January 2016.

The theme of the conference this year will be Mormons and technology. A complete schedule and registration are available on the Sunstone West conference website. The Mormon Transhumanist Association is sponsoring recording of the conference, and will make videos available on its YouTube channel afterwards.

IMAGE: PHOTO OF PAINTING WITH JESUS

My first encounter with really powerful depression came in the MTC. It worsened in the field. I cycled through periods of intense productivity and soul scouring depression a few times a month. As a missionary, I framed everything I experienced within the vernacular that was closest at hand. I attributed the depressive cycles to moral failure, not working hard enough, not being pure enough in my selflessness, despite the fact that I was clearly undergoing symptoms of clinical depression.

IMAGE: PHOTO OF CARL YOUNGBLOOD

The Mormon Matters podcast recently featured Carl Youngblood, vice president of the Mormon Transhumanist Association, as well as association member Jordan Harmon. With host Dan Wotherspoon and Derrick Clements, they discussed the positive spiritual effects of disenchantment and demythologizing.

Here is the description of the podcast episode from Mormon Matters:

IMAGE: PHOTO OF PERSON STANDING BEFORE SUNSET SKY

In a faith which claims God is the creator or architect of the universe, one grand idea to lose yourself in is to reconcile that faith with the amazing truths mankind has discovered about those creations. This exercise was eloquently described by Blaise Pascal in the 17th century and resonates even more powerfully today:

IMAGE: PHOTO OF MTA LOGO

Dear members of the Mormon Transhumanist Association,

The association's annual member survey for 2015 is now available. All members of the association are invited to participate, and hopefully everyone will. That includes you! Here's the link to the survey:

IMAGE: PHOTO OF FALL LEAVES AND LAKE

This post is part of a series of personal narratives written by members of the Mormon Transhumanist Association. Each tells their story of how they became a Transhumanist. Guest: Joni Newman.