# Brief History of the Mormon Transhumanist Association

A timeline of the Mormon Transhumanist Association's history, presented at the 2017 MTA Conference, from its founding in 2006 through major milestones.

At the 2017 Conference of the Mormon Transhumanist Association (MTA), I presented a brief history of the association. Below is an outline of the events I mentioned, beginning with the founding of the association on 3 March 2006 and ending in 2016, when we changed the leadership of the association. And at the end is a recording of the presentation.

Of necessity, this history doesn’t include everything the association and its members have done or experienced over the years. But it does call out what I consider to be particularly noteworthy events. In most cases, this reflects my assessment of their relative magnitude of effect over time.

> “Yes, by transhumanist standards the Mormon Transhumanist Association is an ancient institution.” - Anders Sandberg, prominent Transhumanist, computational neuroscientist, and co-author of the Transhumanist Declaration

## 2006 (29 members)

- Launched the [Transfigurism.org](https://transfigurism.org/) website in March 2006.
- Adopted the Constitution, containing the [Transhumanist Declaration](https://transfigurism.org/library/core-texts/declaration) and Mormon Transhumanist Affirmation, in May 2006 (14 members).
- Affiliated with the World Transhumanist Association in July 2006.
- Presented [Mormon Transhumanism](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0mxFhljCRmrNXlJOEEtS0s1Rlk/view) to Mormons at Sunstone in August 2006.
- Organized a [Rosetta@Home team](https://boinc.bakerlab.org/rosetta/team_display.php?teamid=4409) for medical research in November 2006.
## 2007 (48 members)

- Featured “[Transfiguration](https://cloud.metacannon.net/lincoln/texts/documents/transfiguration-2007.pdf)” in the March 2007 edition of *Sunstone* magazine.
- Presented Mormon Transhumanism to Transhumanists in Second Life in April 2007.
- Launched [Facebook group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/transfigurism/) in December 2007.
## 2008 (67 members)

- Organized monthly [meetups](https://transfigurism.meetup.com/) beginning in January 2008.
- Rented and evicted from space on Mormon island in Second Life, in May and July 2008.
- Presented the [New God Argument](https://new-god-argument.com) at Sunstone in August 2008.
## 2009 (83 members)

- Sponsored Parallels and Convergences Conference with [Terryl Givens](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZp0q6bigmw&list=PLbIPMPVrfXYBaetScAKPXJyqhibMSt4hu) in March 2009.
## 2010 (104 members)

- Terminated and renewed affiliation with [Humanity+](https://humanityplus.org/) in April and October 2010.
- Hosted [James Hughes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho-t11DGvVc&list=PLbIPMPVrfXYBaetScAKPXJyqhibMSt4hu) and [Max More](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWILNddsatA&list=PLbIPMPVrfXYBaetScAKPXJyqhibMSt4hu) at Transhumanism and Spirituality Conference.
## 2011 (133 members)

- External: [Sam Harris](https://web.archive.org/web/20201112004605/https://samharris.org/is-religion-true-in-the-matrix/) appears to respond to the New God Argument in April 2011.
## 2012 (241 members)

- Published essays in *[Parallels and Convergences: Mormon Thought and Engineering Vision](https://amzn.to/29t2QaU)* book in February 2012.
- Featured [Lincoln Cannon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgs5-h5CKdQ&list=PLbIPMPVrfXYBaetScAKPXJyqhibMSt4hu) and [Giulio Prisco](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVup2TgYZAs&list=PLbIPMPVrfXYBaetScAKPXJyqhibMSt4hu) at first association conference in April 2012.
- Launched [YouTube channel](https://youtube.com/user/transfigurism) in April 2012.
## 2013 (365 members)

- Organized [Kiva microlending team](https://www.kiva.org/team/transfigurism) in January 2013.
- Hosted [Richard Bushman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B14yKHwe9HU&list=PLbIPMPVrfXYBaetScAKPXJyqhibMSt4hu) and [Aubrey de Grey](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybXOTs1GA5E&list=PLbIPMPVrfXYBaetScAKPXJyqhibMSt4hu) at second association conference in April 2013.
- Sponsored [Amit Goswami](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqUge12FnI0) lecture at University of Utah in November 2013.
## 2014 (478 members)

- Hosted [Adam Miller](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVElI5FfcY8&list=PLbIPMPVrfXYBaetScAKPXJyqhibMSt4hu) and [Natasha Vita-More](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGoQnU6ySw4&list=PLbIPMPVrfXYBaetScAKPXJyqhibMSt4hu) at third association conference in April 2014.
- Sponsored [Atheists and Mormons panel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezjGfdeZG4g) discussion in April 2014.
- Sponsored Religion and Transhumanism Conference with [Ted Peters](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLHnEM6B3hA&list=PLbIPMPVrfXYBNKOldV2v7YeBHiF4rqGYB) in May 2014.
- Published “[Reconcile the Members of the Body of Christ](https://www.transfigurism.org/community-voices/archive/2014-06-17-reconcile-the-members-of-the-body-of-christ)” in June 2014.
- Organized a humanitarian team, with first projects beginning in September 2014.
## 2015 (562 members)

- Hosted [Kristine Haglund](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YyImflOFA4&list=PLbIPMPVrfXYBaetScAKPXJyqhibMSt4hu) and [Ralph Merkle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfPhnOxh3qs&list=PLbIPMPVrfXYBaetScAKPXJyqhibMSt4hu) at fourth association conference in April 2015.
- Published “[What Is Mormon Transhumanism?](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14746700.2015.1023992)” in the journal of *Theology and Science*.
- Presented Mormon Transhumanism at Samford in September 2015.
## 2016 (631 members)

- Amended the [Mormon Transhumanist Affirmation](https://www.transfigurism.org/about/official-documents/mormon-transhumanist-affirmation) in February 2016.
- Appointed Christopher Bradford as association president in March 2016.
- Hosted [Rosalynde Welch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9i9RJEfHUg&list=PLbIPMPVrfXYBaetScAKPXJyqhibMSt4hu) and [Eric Steinhart](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8cDBABlfTc&list=PLbIPMPVrfXYBaetScAKPXJyqhibMSt4hu) at fifth association conference in April 2016.
- External: *[The New Yorker](https://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/mormon-transhumanism-and-the-immortality-upgrade)* features Mormon Transhumanism on 20 April 2016.
- Appointed Blaire Ostler as association CEO in November 2016.
> “I have always told the press that the MTA is the best organized and most thoughtful of the world’s transhumanist groups. The attempt to interrogate the relationship between transhumanism, emerging technologies and Mormon prophecy holds a special fascination for me as a spiritual transhumanist and sociologist who has studied the history of religious millennialism. I think the MTA is a harbinger of a broader engagement with transhumanism by religious scholars that will broaden from the current ill-informed condemnation to selective adoption and endorsement of enhancement technologies and eschatological possibilities. Hopefully there will be a proliferation of groups like the MTA and the Christian Transhumanist Association to pursue this important dialogue. Being more open to this form of dialogue offers much to both sides. Transhumanism has a big problem with questions around the good life and the ends of human existence, and transhumanists often end up proposing ideas that have a long history as religious ideas, without ever realizing those continuities.” - James Hughes, prominent Transhumanist, sociologist and bioethicist, and principal of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technology

Syndicated from [Lincoln Cannon](https://lincoln.metacannon.net/2017/04/a-brief-history-of-mormon-transhumanist.html).