When I was 50, I had a heart attack. When I was 60, I had by-pass surgery. When I was 61, I had reconstructive knee surgery. These events have had very little impact on my travel, work, and other activities. Even the short-term impacts were minimal. Only a few years ago, any of these might have been crippling, or even deadly. But thanx to modern medicine I have hardly been slowed. And the future promises far more incredible advances.

Modern communication advances are also impressive. The Internet is available almost universally. This makes near instantaneous communications with anyone around the world possible. The potential for good here is almost limitless. Yet, the church seems overly fixated on the downside.

Often, as humans have looked to the future, we have struggled to open our minds to amazing possibilities. Check this out . . .

http://transfigurism.org/community/blogs/lincoln_cannon/archive/2007/07/11/3212.aspx

I did mean “esoteric,” however, and not nebulous. I looked up the word esoteric and it is stronger than I intended but more accurately describes my opinion.

The part that doesn’t resonate strongly with me is: “we (members of MTA) have observed that, although our faith was active in relation to many tenets of Mormonism, it was mostly passive in relation to the more concrete aspects of future salvation: transfiguration and resurrection to physical immortality, the paradisiacal glory of millenial Earth, the organization of new worlds, and so forth.(p. 26)”

Two statements did resonate with me: (1) “Influenced by a Transhumanist perspective, Mormons may open themselves to more optimistic views of the near future. (p. 36)” and (2) “Whether tomorrow is wonderful or horrible may depend on the extent to which persons with good minds and loving hearts become actively involved in shaping the future. (p. 38)” I think I would make the latter statement even stronger by stating “will depend.”

There certainly is a lot of philosophy in transhumanism, and perhaps especially Mormon transhumanism, and we always need to remember that we must take practical actions in order to actually get anywhere. I’m not trying to suggest that transhumans or Mormon transhumans do either to the exclusion of the other; they are complimentary, in my opinion. I am trying to suggest that the more practical minded are certainly welcome, and certainly needed!

I don’t follow your comment that the Mormon Transhumanist Association seems to be pulling legs, especially since your objection is merely that it is esoteric. (Or nebulous?) While I am not a spokesman for the MTA or any members beside myself, based on my observations I can assure you that we are serious and sincere, and for many in the MTA the advancement of God’s children, both spiritually and physically, is an important part of our lives.

http://transfigurism.org/community/forums/16/ShowForum.aspx