We had a wonderful conference this year, and all the conference presentations are available online. There were many excellent presentations and papers. We have chosen to extend a best paper award to the top 1/3rd of the papers submitted to the conference, (the top 6 papers), with an invitation for them to have their papers included in a published conference proceedings. Each paper was ranked by three (and in some cases four) reviewers. No reviewer reviewed their own paper.The decision was not just made based upon the quality of the oral conference presentation, but also upon the suitability of each talk for printed publication (the best talks are not always the best papers and visa versa).

This award goes to, in alphabetical order:

Chris Bradford on “Bodies Without End: Embodiment in a Substrate-Independent World” Brad Carmack on “Mormonism Beyond the Gender Binary” James Carroll on “Epiphenomenalism, the Problem with Property Dualism” Marcus Flinders on “Taxation in a Millennial World” Karl Hale on “Worshiping an Extra-Terrestrial Humanoid Deity” Micah Redding on “Transhumanism and the Christian Story”

The Association Board has approved the following title changes for leaders.

Brad Carmack Chief Operations Officer

Carl Youngblood Chief Information Officer

We extend sincere thanks to the outgoing directors: Carl Youngblood and Brent Allsop. Brent will be the project manager for the annual member survey, and Carl will continue in his role as Webmaster. See the new directors' profiles here and their bios below.

• Brad Carmack Association Secretary

IMAGE: PHOTO OF 2012 MTA CONFERENCE

The 2012 conference of the Mormon Transhumanist Association was held on 6 April 2012 at the Salt Lake City Public Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Speakers addressed the themes of Mormonism, Transhumanism and Transfigurism, with particular attention to topics at the intersection of technology, spirituality, science and religion. The conference streamed live for online viewers, and recordings are now available on the Mormon Transhumanist Association channel on YouTube. Please post comments and questions, and share these recordings with your friends and family. Thank you!

Technology changes us, and the world around us, in countless ways. The stuff of science fiction is now, in many cases, reality, and it can make our lives longer, healthier, and more productive than ever. But technological advance is not without complication, and even ardent proponents of technology recognize that our present age of innovation is fraught with concern for unintended consequences.

IMAGE: PHOTO OF 2012 MTA CONFERENCE

The 2012 conference of the Mormon Transhumanist Association will be held on 6 April 2012 from 9am to 5pm at the Salt Lake City Public Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Speakers will address the themes of Mormonism, Transhumanism and Transfigurism, with particular attention to topics at the intersection of technology, spirituality, science and religion. The conference schedule is below, and the program is now available for download. For those unable to attend in person, the association will provide a live stream of the conference on the association website home page at http://transfigurism.org. Those who can attend in person may still register today!

IMAGE: PHOTO OF 2012 MTA CONFERENCE LOGO

The 2012 conference of the Mormon Transhumanist Association will be held on 6 April 2012 from 9am to 5pm at the Salt Lake City Public Library in Salt Lake CIty, Utah. Speakers will address the themes of Mormonism, Transhumanism and Transfigurism, with particular attention to topics at the intersection of technology, spirituality, science and religion. The schedule has been revised as follows: Roger Hansen will be unable to attend, and Lincoln Cannon will speak on "The Consolation: An Interpretive Variation on the King Follett Sermon of Joseph Smith". The conference is open to the public. Register today!

The Mormon Transhumanist Association has released results of its 2011 member survey. The survey results provide aggregate statistics of members' views on religion and politics, satisfaction with the association, and demographics.

In 2011, the association grew from 120 members to 143 members, and 71 members participated in the survey. Notable statistical changes since 2010 include:

IMAGE: PHOTO OF 2012 MTA CONFERENCE LOGO

The 2012 conference of the Mormon Transhumanist Association will be held on 6 April 2012 from 9am to 5pm at the Salt Lake City Public Library in Salt Lake CIty, Utah. The conference is open to the public. Register today!

Lincoln Cannon and Chris Bradford were guests on the Mormon Matters podcast, with host Dan Wotherspoon and panelist Tyson Jacobsen. They discuss the future, especially as it is and promises to be even more impacted by technological advancements, along with several other major themes in Transhumanist debates. They also discuss the relevance of religion in a world increasingly dominated by science and secularism, and they pay particular attention to how Mormon and other religious concepts and terms can be given new life when informed by Transhumanist themes. They also examine the type of actors the world needs as it hurdles toward completely unprecedented forms of life and sociality.