Archive 2012

[3 January 2012 11:48pm - If I were to write this post again now, it would be titled and focused differently. As I’ve reviewed and discussed with others the posts and comments exchanged between BCC and me, and as I’ve considered subsequent claims by BCC, I’ve become persuaded that BCC ... Read the article →

Sports news media and google searchers are presently giving the Biblical passage at John 3:16 a lot of attention because Tim Tebow, an American football player known for advocating Christianity by displaying references to “John 3:16”, recently led the Denver Broncos to victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers by passing for ... Read the article →

The Doomsday Clock has moved a minute closer to midnight. It’s managed by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, who have since 1947 used the clock to communicate their assessment of the degree of global catastrophic risk facing humanity. Humanity faces a broad set of extinction risks, both natural and ... Read the article →

Scientists Anders Sandberg and Stuart Armstrong are working on a paper that explores the relation between theoretical engineering capacities and colonization of the universe. Of course, this is not a new topic. For decades, scientists and philosophers have analyzed what has come to be known as the “Fermi paradox,” named ... Read the article →

In conversation with a friend today, he commented that Paul in the New Testament seems to tell us to leave behind Christ (Hebrews 6: 1). I don’t think that’s an accurate interpretation of the passage. But I do think Paul invites us to leave behind the infancy of following Christ ... Read the article →

I’m pleased to announce that Parallels and Convergences: Mormon Thought and Engineering Vision is now available for purchase. In 2009, the Claremont School of Religion, the LDS Council on Mormon Studies and the Mormon Scholars Foundation sponsored the Mormonism and Engineering conference. Richard Bushman (Claremont College Howard W Hunter Chair ... Read the article →

I have three sons that I love dearly, and I care about their education in all areas, including sexuality. I want them to understand that sex is beautiful and fun, when accompanied with love, respect and responsibility. I also want them to understand that sex can be abused, potentially harming ... Read the article →

This week, I was a guest on the Mormon Matters podcast, hosted by my friend Dan Wotherspoon. I joined Dan, Chris Bradford, and Tyson Jacobsen in a discussion about Mormonism and Transhumanism. We recorded the podcast in two parts. Here are links: Mormonism and Transhumanism on Mormon Matters Podcast (Part ... Read the article →

A friend (who knows I’m writing this, but whose name will remain undisclosed) approached me today with a list of questions, reflecting a crisis of religious disillusionment. Like me, my friend is a Mormon, which brought us together. And his questions were related to common controversies in Mormonism. I explained ... Read the article →

Over the last couple days, I watched an online stream of the April 2012 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I enjoyed the conference, and particularly the opportunity to engage in discussion of the ideas with others online. Below are 92 thoughts, from me and ... Read the article →

Mormons typically understand the work of God to be that of bringing about human immortality and eternal life, reflecting words from a thought provoking passage from the first chapter of the Book of Moses. Since most Mormons also trust that we should become like God, the implication is that the ... Read the article →

“God is cruel,” says Hank Pellissier, managing director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technology. Here are my thoughts in response. Hank, there’s considerable irony in your post. The charge that theism is illogical presents significant practical and logical challenges for a Transhumanist. You trust in humanity’s posthuman potential. ... Read the article →

In 1978, the LDS Church extended priesthood to blacks. Prior to that time, some Mormons doubted the divinity of the priesthood ban. Subsequent to that time, some Mormons doubted the divinity of the priesthood extension. This evening, I was imagining what it might have been like in the early 1970s ... Read the article →

In “The Superintelligent Will: Motivations and Instrumental Rationality in Advanced Artificial Agents,” Nick Bostrom argues briefly for the idea that the intelligence and the purpose of an agent are mostly independent. He calls this the “orthogonality thesis.” I’m not persuaded by his reasoning. He acknowledges three constraints on the relation ... Read the article →

Should we attempt to persuade each other of our ideologies? Some of us avoid proselyting. Others, such as Mormons, heartily embrace proselyting. While I don’t think all forms of proselyting are good, and I don’t think all ideologies (or all interpretations of any ideology) are worthy of proselyting, here are ... Read the article →

I recently read news of a creationist museum using billboards featuring cartoon dinosaurs. Yes. That’s religious dinosaurs using cartoon dinosaurs to preach fictional dinosaurs. It prompted an interesting discussion on my Google+ page regarding interpretation of the Judeo-Christian creation story. The claim was made that the LDS Church (the largest ... Read the article →

God is dead, proclaimed Nietzsche. He was right and wrong. Following their God, traditional forms of religion have been dying, particularly in many technologically advanced, specialized, and prosperous countries. Consequently, many have embraced the secularization hypothesis: religion itself is dying. That hypothesis, however, now embraced less by experts than by ... Read the article →

Several friends have asked for my opinion on Humanistic Mormonism, consequent to hearing about the Society for Humanistic Mormonism. As most readers of my blog know, I’m one of the founders of the Mormon Transhumanist Association and currently serving as president of that organization. So it won’t come as a ... Read the article →

At the recent 2012 Conference of the Mormon Transhumanist Association, I presented a paper entitled “The Consolation: An Adaptation of the King Follett Sermon of Joseph Smith.” Some who are well acquainted with my thoughts and writings have remarked to me that this may be the best paper that I’ve ... Read the article →

As mentioned before, I’ve repeatedly found inspiration in Richard Dawkins, despite an important difference between us. He’s a devout atheist. And I’m a devout theist. He argues cogently that complex life must have simpler antecedents. And he vigorously attacks contrary theist positions. I agree with him. Interestingly, however, to illustrate ... Read the article →

This weekend, I watched an online stream of the October 2012 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I enjoyed the conference, and particularly the opportunity to engage in discussion of the ideas with others online. Below are 100 thoughts, from me and others, about the ... Read the article →

If you’re a Mormon, you should be a Transhumanist. That’s my contention. I’ve suggested before that “Mormon Transhumanist” is not redundant. But “Transhumanist Mormon” is redundant because Mormonism mandates Transhumanism. In other words, you can be a Transhumanist without being a Mormon. But you can’t be a Mormon without being ... Read the article →

Think of an egoist atheist. What comes to mind? Here’s what doesn’t come to mind: trust in an altruistic god-like extraterrestrial. That, however, is only because you don’t know this egoist atheist: Forbidden Truth (“FT”). Now, some will think that I’m intending “egoist” as an external judgment or insult, but ... Read the article →

As the Director of Sales & Marketing Technology at Merit, I’m proud to announce that Merit Medical was ranked 195 out of 500 companies on the InformationWeek 500 Top Technology Innovators. This annual list identifies the nation’s most innovative users of business technology. InformationWeek tracks the technology, strategies, investments, and ... Read the article →

Dear brother, I’m the father of one of your seminary students. He mentioned to me that a student asked about human evolution yesterday, and that you do not have a favorable opinion of it. I’m writing to share with you my thoughts and feelings on the subject, hoping that you’ll ... Read the article →

If you are familiar with the Book of Mormon and the King James translation of the Bible then you know they contain many textual similarities. Nephi extensively quotes Isaiah. Jesus repeats to the Nephites many of his words recorded in the Gospels. Moroni teaches of charity with words nearly identical ... Read the article →

Available now is my computed comparison of the First Book of Nephi to the Bible. It consists of 58 pages of side-by-side text comparisons. This is part of the second edition of As One that Hath a Familiar Spirit. Here are some highlights from and observations about this comparison of ... Read the article →

Available now is my computed comparison of the Second Book of Nephi to the Bible. It consists of 157 pages of side-by-side text comparisons. This is part of the second edition of As One that Hath a Familiar Spirit. Here are some highlights from and observations about this comparison of ... Read the article →

I trust our world was created by God, a radically compassionate posthumanity. After expressing this trust recently on the Singularity 1 on 1 podcast, a commenter asked how I justify the morality of creating worlds like the one we’re now living in. Or, put differently and in traditional terms: how ... Read the article →