A friend is exploring Mormon Transhumanism. He finds it “mind-expanding” and “faith promoting,” and even an “honest, authentic, and unexpectedly practical approach to religion.” But he’s also tentative about it, mostly because his “desire to remain in the mainstream of the Church is strong.” And he wonders whether and how both are possible. This friend isn’t alone. I’ve had the opportunity – really, the good fortune and privilege – to talk with many friends about such perceptions over the years. They recognize the practical power of a Transhumanist approach to our religion. And they wonder how best to take advantage of that power without losing or harming their relationship with the Church and culture that they love and support. I know about this first-hand too, although somewhat differently than some of my friends, who encounter Transhumanism from a place of faith. I had lost my faith when I encountered Transhumanism. And Transhumanism was a major reason that I eventually regained my faith. It probably also contributed substantially to keeping me in the Church. Below are some questions that my friend sent me. Each is followed by some of my thoughts in response. And the thoughts include links to other articles that elaborate more. Hopefully this will be helpful, both for my friend who sent the questions and for other friends (current and future) who read it. Prayer “Do you pray? Who do you pray to? How do you pray?” I pray to God in the name of Christ. That’s the short answer. There are many longer answers. I’ll elaborate a bit. My aspiration is to pray always, as Nephi in the Book of Mormon encourages us to do. I want my thoughts, words, and actions to be prayers – always. I want them always to be expressions of courage toward creation of compassionate worlds, following the example of Jesus Christ. Of course I don’t always live up to this aspiration. But it’s my aspiration nonetheless. And of course I can’t pray always in formal ways. That wouldn’t be practical. But I do pray formally. Most of my formal prayers, from a Mormon perspective, take unsurprising forms. I pray formally at Church, before meals, with family, and with friends. I also participate in formal prayers with persons of other faith traditions, as opportunities permit. When I pray formally, I usually close my eyes. Sometimes I kneel, depending on the context. Again, nothing about this is surprising, from a Mormon perspective. When praying with persons of other faith traditions, I’ll sometimes adopt their formalities, such as holding hands around a table for a prayer before a meal. I pray in the name of Christ. By this, I mean that I try to follow the example of Jesus. And I take seriously his invitation to join him in Christ, taking on that name and role to the best of my ability. And I pray to God. By this, I mean that my intention is directed toward God in the most holistic sense, reflecting the whole breadth of Mormon theology. Principally, that is the creator of our world, who represents our superhuman potential. And it also includes expressions of God in our community and environment, and in me. Prophets “Do you believe that scripture and revelations are knowledge from our creators given to prophets? Do you believe that the our prophets have an elevated interaction with God(s), and receive knowledge from them to guide the church and humanity?” I’ve recently written at length about my perspective on scripture. In summary, I esteem as scripture that which we receive from the Holy Ghost – the sublime esthetic. Of course that includes formal authoritative scripture, when we read it with inspiration. And it also includes any other text, not necessarily with any authoritative weight, when we read with inspiration. I esteem scripture and revelation to be primarily esthetic matters – spiritual matters. They can and should also provide knowledge in the sense of shared edification and understanding. They don’t necessarily provide knowledge in a scientific sense. ...