The winners of the 2009 LDSTech Awards that were awarded during the LDSTech Talk were:

Yesterday during conference, Elder Scott provided a phenomenological breakdown of revelation that was refreshing. He spoke of feeling a flash of inspiration, trying to convert his inspiration into words, reflecting on those words and then revising them until the Holy Spirit confirms their truth. I enjoyed the talk and almost completely agree with that perspective.

Some more thoughts about conference: WHY is the porn thing such a big issue? I get why porn is a problem and how it can damage individuals and families. What I don't get is church authorities obsession with talking about it, admonishing men over it, basically beating it to death in every conference for the past several years. Not really sure I have an answer to the question, but I guess I am coming to a few half baked ideas. My personal take on this (which may or may not be worth the hard drive space it's saved on) is that the obsession with porn is the result of some deeply embedded contradictory assumptions held within Mormon belief and culture about the nature of masculinity. In D&C 121 Joseph eloquently articulates the conflict perspective on human nature, and specifically male nature:

The Mormon Transhumanist Association provides several news and blog feeds, available for your review and selection on the Content Feeds page. The main feed, "Mormon Transhumanist Association Feeds", aggregates all of the other feeds in order to facilitate the subscription process for those who would like to see everything coming from all MTA feeds. Today, we've added a second main feed, "Mormon Transhumanist Association Feeds without Comments". This new feed aggregates all of the other feeds except the comment feeds, for those who prefer not to see comments directly in the feed stream. Here are the feeds currently included in Mormon Transhumanist Association Feeds:

The second annual LDSTech Talk will be held on 17 September at 6pm MDT. The LDSTech Talk is a streamed event that will update you on what the Church is doing with technology. Register today and mark your calendar. Joel Dehlin, managing director of ICS and CIO of the Church, will host the event. The winners of the 2009 LDSTech Awards will be announced. If you have a question you would like answered during the event, submit it beforehand by using the LDSTech Talk Question form. The latest information about the event will be posted on the 2009 LDSTech Talk page. If you're unable to watch live, we will post it on the site within two weeks after the event. Also you can download the 2008 LDSTech Talk to see how it went last year.

The Singularity Institute is pleased to host the Singularity Summit 2009, a rare gathering of thinkers to explore the rising impact of science and technology on society. The summit has been organized to further the understanding of a controversial idea -- the singularity scenario. The summit will take place 3-4 October 2009 in New York City. You may register online.

The Fall 2009 Issue of h+ Magazine features Erik Davis on Dollhouse, Tweaking Your Neurons, The Psychedelic Transhumanists, Sex and the Singularity, Jonathan Coulton's Inner Squid, and more.

Mr. Lightman is an author, serial entrepreneur, and futurist, who has made significant contributions to the adoption of IPv6, written and spoken on the future of technology since 1985 and has authored numerous articles and a book on technology and society. He is the author of the first book on 4G wireless broadband, Brave New Unwired World: The Digital Big Bang and the Infinite Internet (John Wiley, 2002), which made predictions about the future of computers and communications that are consistent with the actual growth of Internet and mobile technologies.

As required by the Constitution in Article IX, section 7, I have reviewed the financial transactions and processes of the Association and have determined that: a) compensation and benefits are reasonable in that no compensation or financial benefits have been made b) all partnerships, joint ventures, and arrangements with management organizations do conform to the Association's written policies, are propertly recorded, do reflect reasonable investment or payments for goods and services, do further charitable purposes and do not result in inurement, impermissible private benefit or in an excess benefit transaction.

The Mormon Transhumanist Association is now tweeting news and blog headlines. This is the latest of many communications channels that the association has established to collaborate among members and communicate with others. You can find the Mormon Transhumanist Association on Facebook, Google, Vimeo, Scribd, Picasa, Second Life, Meetup, and Rosetta@Home. You can also keep up with the latest information from and about the association, as well as information on the intersection of religion, science, spirituality and technology, by subscribing to our feeds. We invite you to help us identify other ways of advocating the purpose of the association. As always, you may contact association leadership at [[email protected]].