On the June 23rd in a special leadership broadcast, Elder L. Tom Perry announced that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would be rolling out a program to allow its full-time missionaries to use Facebook and other new media platforms to connect with investigators and potential converts. This change is part of a broader trend toward more online engagement by the LDS Church.

The Internet occupies an important place within the unfolding history of religion. The Internet is a powerful tool that presents many challenges and opportunities within religious communities. In recent General Conference addresses, high-ranking LDS Church leaders have encouraged members to be actively engaged in online communities.

Chris Bradford, Vice President of the Mormon Transhumanist Association, will speak at the Sunstone Symposium at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday 3 August at 9:45am. Chris will present his paper, "Bodies without End," drawing on the work of James Faulconer and David Paulsen, dealing with Mormon conceptions of embodiment — both human and divine — and on the work of Antonio d’Amasio and Douglas Hofstadter, dealing with identity, embodiment, and emotion, to propose a model of embodiment that fits Joseph Smith’s teachings on spirit bodies, physical bodies, resurrected bodies, and God’s body. More information is available in the conference program and on the Sunstone website.

The Rational Faiths blog invited leaders of the Mormon Transhumanist Association to contribute a series of posts about Mormon Transhumanism:

James Carroll answered the question, “What is Transhumanism?”

Carl Youngblood shared “Transhumanist Parallels in Mormonism” and “A Transhumanist Interpretation of the Gospel”.

Lincoln Cannon explained why “Mormonism Mandates Transhumanism”.

Chris Bradford wrote on “Mormon Transhumanism Criticisms and Responses”.

What are the Talmage Awards?

James E. Talmage is a notable Mormon scientist who served as an Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1911 and 1933. In memory of Talmage, the Mormon Transhumanist Association seeks to identify and publicly recognize outstanding contributors to the work of promoting radical flourishing in compassion and creation through technology and religion. This year, Association members will nominate and vote for candidates in various categories, such as "Best Mormon Transhumanist Blog," "Best Speech on Science and Religion," "Biggest Idea in Religious Transhumanism," and so forth. The Association will then announce winners and provide "Talmage Award Winner" web badges that winners can post to their websites.

Unscriptured on SYN Radio interviewed Lincoln Cannon, president of the Mormon Transhumanist Association, about Transhumanism and its relation to Mormonism. A recording of the interview is available on the SYN website:

[http://www.syn.org.au/program/unscriptured/episode/audio/2013/06/12/unscriptured-lincoln-cannon/11551]

SYN is a media organisation run by a community of young people that provides training and broadcast opportunities for young Australians. Their values ...

Access: SYN provides open access for all young people to participate in its community. Independence: SYN produces content free from commercial and other external pressures. Participation: SYN supports young people to take charge of media creation, training and governance. Diversity: SYN actively encourages a range of youth perspectives, cultures and ideas. Innovation: SYN celebrates quality, and supports creativity and flexibility in its programming and operations. SYN offers young people aged 12-25 the skills and platforms to be creators, not just consumers, of media.

Adam Ford, a director of Humanity+, interviewed Lincoln Cannon, president of the Mormon Transhumanist Association, on the subjects of Transhumanism and Mormonism. Humanity+ and the Mormon Transhumanist Association are affiliates. The interview is available on YouTube and at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. It is also embedded below for your convenience.

In annual elections held in April, voting members of the Mormon Transhumanist Association elected three new directors: Carl Youngblood, Don Bradley and Karl Hale.

The Mormon Transhumanist Association has released results of its 2012 member survey. The survey results provide aggregate statistics of members' views on religion and politics, satisfaction with the association, and demographics. In 2012, the association grew from 143 members to 255 members, and 91 members participated in the survey. Notable statistical changes since 2011 include:

-Twelve-month average growth increased from 2.5 to 9 new members per month -Membership identifying as progressive in economic politics declined from 41% to 32% -Membership attributing high importance to the association increased from 25% to 33% -Membership born in the years 1975 to 1984 increased from 31% to 44% -Membership of caucasian ethnicity decreased from 94% to 88%

Brad Carmack, director and secretary of the Mormon Transhumanist Association, represented the Mormon Transhumanist Association at the 87th Annual Meeting of the American Philosophical Society in San Francisco on 27-31 March 2013. Brad spoke on the subject of “Transfigurism: a Syncretization of Mormonism and Transhumanism”. His thesis was that emerging technology will continue to affect the evolution of religion, and Mormon Transhumanism is an early example of some of the adaptations we might expect to observe more broadly going forward. In the video recording, Brad speaks from 1:38:56 to 1:50:48 and participates in the panel discussion beginning at 2:04:40.

Please find the playlist of all 26 video proceedings here!

Videos of presentations at the 2013 Mormon Transhumanist Association Conference held in SLC, Utah on 5 April will be available in the next few weeks, and will be announced in this news feed. Like last year, the videos will be posted as a playlist on the Association's YouTube channel.