christ

David A. Bednar (b. 1952) is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Widely regarded as one of the most analytically rigorous teachers in contemporary Latter-day Saint leadership, he has shaped how millions of members understand the relationship between agency, covenant, and discipleship. Before his call to the holy apostleship in 2004, Bednar served as president of Ricks College (later BYU–Idaho) from 1997 to 2004, where he led a significant institutional transformation, including the college’s transition to a four-year university. His academic background is in organizational behavior, and he has brought that analytical sensibility to his theological teaching, consistently emphasizing patterns, principles, and the active responsibilities of covenant discipleship. Bednar’s legacy rests substantially on his insistence that discipleship is participatory rather than passive. His teaching frames human beings not as recipients of divine action but as agents commissioned in a shared work of redemption—what he has described as the Lord’s agents in the work of salvation and exaltation. That framing resonates with the Mormon transhumanist reading of theosis: Godhood is not bestowed but developed through active, willing participation in the work of God.

Elias L. T. Harrison (1830–1900) was an early Latter-day Saint leader and writer who served missions in Great Britain and contributed thoughtful writings on priesthood responsibility and the nature of godliness. His 1858 essay in the Millennial Star articulated a profound vision of priesthood holders as representatives of God’s spirit and actions upon earth. He taught that ordinations alone do not make one godlike—rather, the priesthood calls individuals to put down evil and embody the virtues of the eternal God. Harrison emphasized that the world is to comprehend God through the lives of those who hold the priesthood. True priesthood, he taught, means becoming images of the living God, blessing and helping the weak and downtrodden until such service becomes natural.

Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) was a Swedish pluralistic scientist, philosopher, theologian, and mystic. His theological writings describe a detailed structure of the spiritual world and emphasize the importance of useful service. Born in Stockholm to a prominent family, Swedenborg was one of the most learned men of his age, making significant contributions to mining engineering, anatomy, and other sciences before turning to spiritual matters in his fifties. His theological works, including Heaven and Hell , describe the afterlife as a realm of continued activity, purpose, and progression. His emphasis on useful service and continued growth after death has influenced many religious movements, including some aspects of Latter-day Saint thought about the nature of heaven and eternal progression.

Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) was an American religious leader, statesman, and farmer who served as the thirteenth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1985–1994) and as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture under President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961). Born in Whitney, Idaho, Benson grew up on a family farm and carried a lifelong commitment to agrarian values, self-reliance, and public service. He served as a mission president in the British Isles and later as President of the European Mission following World War II, overseeing significant humanitarian and spiritual reconstruction efforts. Benson’s public career spanned both ecclesiastical and governmental spheres with unusual distinction. As Secretary of Agriculture, he advocated for free-market principles and became one of the most prominent Latter-day Saint voices in twentieth-century American political life. Within the Church, he served as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for nearly two decades before ascending to the presidency, during which he placed particular emphasis on the Book of Mormon as a keystone of faith and a guide for modern life. Benson held a deeply integrative view of truth, insisting that science and revealed religion are not adversaries but complementary paths toward the same reality. “Truth is truth, whether labeled science or religion,” he affirmed—a conviction that frames inquiry and faith as close allies. He also taught that God works through human beings, especially those of good will, to accomplish divine purposes across history. These commitments—to the unity of truth, to divine collaboration with mortal effort, and to the ongoing work of human progress—resonate naturally with the Mormon transhumanist conviction that technology, science, and religious aspiration are all expressions of a single trajectory toward greater intelligence, creativity, and Godhood.

George Quayle Cannon (1827–1901) was one of the most influential leaders in the early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and later as First Counselor in the First Presidency under four successive church presidents. A skilled orator, prolific publisher, and astute politician, Cannon shaped the church’s public image and theological discourse during a critical period of its development. Born in Liverpool, England, Cannon immigrated to the United States with his family at age fifteen following their conversion to the LDS faith. After his parents’ deaths, he was raised by his uncle John Taylor, who would later become the third president of the church. Cannon crossed the plains to Utah in 1847 and soon demonstrated exceptional abilities as a writer and leader. In 1849, he was called on a mission to California, and later served in Hawaii, where he learned the Hawaiian language and translated the Book of Mormon into Hawaiian. Cannon’s publishing career began in San Francisco, where he edited the Western Standard. Returning to Utah, he founded the Deseret News and later established the Juvenile Instructor magazine. He served as editor of the Millennial Star in England and built a publishing empire that produced books, pamphlets, and periodicals defending and explaining Latter-day Saint beliefs. His editorials and writings helped articulate church doctrine on subjects ranging from plural marriage to the nature of God. In 1860, Cannon was ordained an apostle at age thirty-two. He also served six terms as Utah’s delegate to the U.S. Congress (1872–1882), where he advocated for Utah statehood while defending the church against anti-polygamy legislation. Though he was eventually denied his congressional seat due to polygamy charges, his political experience proved invaluable to church leadership during the difficult years of federal prosecution. Cannon’s theological contributions reflect themes resonant with transhumanist thought. He taught extensively about human deification and eternal progression, declaring that ‘the object of man’s existence is that he might become like God.’ He envisioned humanity’s potential for infinite development and wrote of the transformative power of knowledge and technology in advancing God’s purposes. His writings on the resurrection emphasized the perfection and glorification of the human body—ideas that anticipate contemporary discussions of human enhancement and transcendence.