Opinion

Blaire Ostler is a philosopher, author, and artist whose work explores the intersection of Mormon theology, transhumanism, and human identity. A ninth-generation Latter-day Saint, she has been a notable voice in conversations about the synthesis of religious tradition with technological progress and expanding theological inquiry. ¶ Ostler holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design from the International Academy of Design and Technology–Seattle. Her background as an abstract modern artist deeply informs her philosophical work. Her paintings, characterized by their exploration of aesthetics and form, can be found in residences and businesses throughout Seattle. This artistic sensibility extends to her writing, where she examines the boundaries of traditional categories to explore a more expansive understanding of divinity and humanity. ¶ Ostler is the author of Queer Mormon Theology: An Introduction (2021), in which she engages with Mormon doctrinal concepts such as the nature of the divine, the significance of Heavenly Mother, and the potential for technological resurrection. Her involvement with the Mormon Transhumanist Association has been significant; she served on the Board of Directors for six years and as CEO from 2016 to 2018. Her transhumanist vision emphasizes active discipleship, where humanity participates in the work of God through morphological freedom and cognitive liberty. ¶ Blaire continues to write, paint, and speak on themes of identity, truth, and beauty, exploring the relationship between the human and the divine.

Caleb Jones is a speaker and thinker deeply engaged with the intersection of Mormon theology, transhumanism, and intergenerational connection. His work focuses on the spirit of Elijah, as referenced in Malachi, and its implications for creating faith-based connections across generations, both living and deceased. He advocates for a broader interpretation of this principle, extending it beyond traditional temple work to encompass a reconciliation of ancient wisdom with modernity. ¶ Jones draws upon G.K. Chesterton’s concept of the “democracy of the dead” to frame his exploration of tradition and remembrance. He posits that our ancestors, through their artifacts and influence, continue to participate in the present. He sees the redemption of the dead through these artifacts—books, music, laws, traditions—as a collective human endeavor involving various disciplines such as literary scholarship, archaeology, and religious studies. ¶ His perspective emphasizes the importance of engaging with the past to inform and enrich the future, particularly within the context of Mormonism and its emphasis on family history and genealogical work. Jones champions seeking a healthy balance and ongoing reconciliation of the hearts and minds of the dead and dying with the hearts and minds of the living, to redeem rising generations.

Blaire Ostler is a philosopher, author, and artist whose work explores the intersection of Mormon theology, transhumanism, and human identity. A ninth-generation Latter-day Saint, she has been a notable voice in conversations about the synthesis of religious tradition with technological progress and expanding theological inquiry. ¶ Ostler holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design from the International Academy of Design and Technology–Seattle. Her background as an abstract modern artist deeply informs her philosophical work. Her paintings, characterized by their exploration of aesthetics and form, can be found in residences and businesses throughout Seattle. This artistic sensibility extends to her writing, where she examines the boundaries of traditional categories to explore a more expansive understanding of divinity and humanity. ¶ Ostler is the author of Queer Mormon Theology: An Introduction (2021), in which she engages with Mormon doctrinal concepts such as the nature of the divine, the significance of Heavenly Mother, and the potential for technological resurrection. Her involvement with the Mormon Transhumanist Association has been significant; she served on the Board of Directors for six years and as CEO from 2016 to 2018. Her transhumanist vision emphasizes active discipleship, where humanity participates in the work of God through morphological freedom and cognitive liberty. ¶ Blaire continues to write, paint, and speak on themes of identity, truth, and beauty, exploring the relationship between the human and the divine.

Caleb Jones is a speaker and thinker deeply engaged with the intersection of Mormon theology, transhumanism, and intergenerational connection. His work focuses on the spirit of Elijah, as referenced in Malachi, and its implications for creating faith-based connections across generations, both living and deceased. He advocates for a broader interpretation of this principle, extending it beyond traditional temple work to encompass a reconciliation of ancient wisdom with modernity. ¶ Jones draws upon G.K. Chesterton’s concept of the “democracy of the dead” to frame his exploration of tradition and remembrance. He posits that our ancestors, through their artifacts and influence, continue to participate in the present. He sees the redemption of the dead through these artifacts—books, music, laws, traditions—as a collective human endeavor involving various disciplines such as literary scholarship, archaeology, and religious studies. ¶ His perspective emphasizes the importance of engaging with the past to inform and enrich the future, particularly within the context of Mormonism and its emphasis on family history and genealogical work. Jones champions seeking a healthy balance and ongoing reconciliation of the hearts and minds of the dead and dying with the hearts and minds of the living, to redeem rising generations.

Carl Youngblood co-founded the MTA in 2006 and has served as its President and CEO since 2021. He is engaged with the Association’s efforts to explore the intersection of Mormon theology and transhumanist philosophy. Among the many initiatives that Carl has been involved with, he has designed and built the Association’s current website, which unifies all prior content in a single location using inspiring visuals and animations. ¶ Youngblood’s professional career spans more than two decades of full-stack software development at the intersection of Silicon Slopes and Silicon Valley. He was an early employee at Omniture (acquired by Adobe), a founding engineering leader at Divvy (a Utah-based unicorn startup), co-founder of Blockscale LLC (a blockchain services firm eventually contracted into Coinbase), and Senior Solutions Architect for Amazon Managed Blockchain at AWS. His technical fluency ranges from scalable web architecture to blockchain infrastructure—the kind of deep engineering experience that grounds his theological speculation in working knowledge of the systems he writes about. ¶ Under his leadership, the Association has developed its mission of promoting abundant human flourishing through the compassionate use of science and technology, fostering dialogue across secular and religious audiences and arguing that each has something essential to learn from the other. His writing, collected on his blog From the Depths, spans over a decade of conference presentations and theological essays: meditations on participatory resurrection, the alignment of artificial intelligence read through the Grand Council narrative, intelligence as eternal and multifaceted, and religion as social technology. He writes, as a colleague has observed, with warmth and accessibility on questions of momentous practical consequence—how to navigate faith crisis without losing faith’s power, how to think about resurrection as something we actively participate in rather than passively receive. ¶ Youngblood’s distinctive contribution to transhumanism is the integration of serious technical expertise with serious theological reflection. He embodies the Mormon transhumanist conviction that scientific and spiritual development are not parallel tracks but a single path—that the learning required to build better systems is continuous with the exaltation Mormon theology envisions, and that human ingenuity, rightly oriented, is itself a divine imperative.