Redeeming (Most of) the Seven Deadly Heresies

Lincoln Cannon is an American philosopher and technologist who co-founded the Mormon Transhumanist Association in 2006, serving as its president from 2006 to 2016. He is a leading advocate of technological evolution and postsecular religion, combining software engineering expertise with degrees in philosophy and business. ¶ Cannon is also a founder and board member of the Christian Transhumanist Association. He formulated the New God Argument, a logical argument for faith in God that has become popular among religious transhumanists. His academic work includes “Mormonism Mandates Transhumanism” published in Religion and Human Enhancement: Death, Values, and Morality (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017) and “Transfigurism: A Future of Religion as Exemplified by Religious Transhumanists” published in The Transhumanism Handbook (Springer Verlag, 2019). ¶ Mormon transhumanism, as articulated by Cannon, holds that humanity should learn how to be compassionate creators. This idea is central to the Mormon theological tradition, which provides a religious framework consistent with naturalism and supportive of human transformation. Cannon’s work bridges religious faith with scientific advancement, advocating for the ethical use of technology to extend human abilities in ways consistent with a religious worldview.
The Tree of Opposition
On 1 June 1980, Bruce R. McConkie delivered a sermon entitled “The Seven Deadly Heresies.” For a long time, I’ve been meaning to share my thoughts about this sermon. And recently, while writing another article, I found myself bumping up against this sermon again. So now is probably a good time.
McConkie was an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It’s by far the largest Mormon denomination. And it’s the denomination of which I’m a member. He died in 1985 when I was ten years old.