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To: Colofornian
It seems to me that some of these "transhumanist" beliefs align themselves quite well with Lds thought. (Partially agree? Disagree? Why?)

First a disclaimer: I had never heard of the MTA before reading this thread. What little I know of their beliefs comes from their website. Thus far, I would say that Transhumanism is not a good fit with Mormonism.

Let's examine the the first point of their Affirmation:

(1) 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.

Exaltation is a term familiar to Mormons. It means eternal life with God. I am not sure what the MTA means by exaltation. (What is exaltation of "anatomies"?)

Apparently, the transhumanists' version of exaltation may be attained according to human "wills, desires and laws." In contrast, Mormonism is clear that we must obey God's will, desires and laws if we are to live with him. Consider, for instance, the third and fourth Articles of Faith:

3 We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

4 We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

The second point of the MTA Affirmation at least mentions God in passing:
(2) 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.
Mormons have traditionally had a great appreciation for science and technology, but I doubt that many would agree that scientists will discover the secret of resurrection, immortality, or transfiguration, not to mention exaltation. We place our hope in Jesus Christ, not technology.

I actually took the time to listen to the presentation by Cal Youngblood, a director of the MTA, that is posted on their web site. Commenting on the second point of the Affirmation (about 55:20), he notes that science and technology are "among the means ordained of God." Youngblood goes on to say:

There are other means ordained of God as well, such as charity, faith, hope, other things like to that.
Youngblood seems to be saying that science and technology are alternatives to faith, hope, and charity, something that is antithetical to Mormonism. He reinforces this impression later (about 60:13):
There is also a conflict that I have between bearing one's cross and sacrificing now for a greater future . . . versus the fulfillment and possibly even the indulgence that might result from these technological improvements. . . . There are some things we can't fix right now and we have to still be willing to bear our crosses.
If I understand his point, Youngblood is proposing that technological improvements can take the place of bearing one's cross, and other old-fashioned notions such as faith, hope, and charity. That is definitely not Mormonism as I understand it.

I started listening to Cannon and West's presentation, but lost interest after about 12 minutes. They admit early on that their argument is aimed toward atheists and almost entirely avoids religious language. That accords with my earlier impression, that the MTA is more Transhumanist than Mormon.

49 posted on 05/27/2009 3:03:30 PM PDT by Logophile
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To: Logophile
Thank you for taking the time to do an "under-the-hood" inspection.

On the surface, there seems to be some MTA-Lds overlaps...but appears to be plenty of fork-in-the-road divergences.

50 posted on 05/27/2009 4:47:59 PM PDT by Colofornian
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