Videos

The MTA Barbershop Chorus performs a rendition of George and Ira Gershwin’s “Our Love Is Here to Stay,” preceded by a recitation of 1 Corinthians 13 on the nature of love. The performance weaves together themes of enduring love and faith—suggesting that while technologies and empires may pass away, love remains the foundation that persists through all change.

Pace Ellsworth argues that human agency—the power to act according to one’s own conscience—is foundational to both religious teaching and political freedom. Drawing on scripture, personal family history, and libertarian philosophy, he examines how technological progress enables decentralization and individual empowerment. Ellsworth advocates for liberating marriage from state control, ending the drug war, revolutionizing education through unschooling, and embracing digital innovations like Bitcoin and 3D printing as pathways to greater freedom.

The MTA Barbershop Chorus performs “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, preceded by a scripture reading about mounting up “in the imagination of his thoughts, as upon eagle’s wings.” The performance weaves together themes of creative vision and spiritual aspiration, inviting listeners into “a world of pure imagination” where “every dream comes true” and “there’s nothing to it” if one truly wishes to change the world.

R. Dennis Hansen speculates on how Mormon theology might have developed differently if Joseph Smith had not been martyred at age 38. Using the King Follett Discourse as a starting point, Hansen examines doctrines of theosis and eternal progression that were left incomplete, including questions about whether God continues to progress, the nature of polytheism in Mormon thought, and the role of Heavenly Mother. He critiques the LDS Church’s 2014 essay “Becoming Like God” as overly defensive about human potential at a time when scientific discovery should inspire cosmic optimism. Hansen sides with Brigham Young and John A. Widtsoe in affirming that all beings—including God—are eternally progressing.

The MTA Barbershop Chorus performs “The Spirit of God,” a beloved Latter-day Saint hymn traditionally sung at temple dedications. The performance opens with a reading from the Doctrine and Covenants about the “dispensation of the fulness of times” when all mysteries shall be revealed. The chorus delivers a stirring rendition with the refrain “Hosanna to God and the Lamb,” celebrating visions of angels visiting the earth and the promise of a world where “the lamb and the lion shall lie down together without any ire.”

This panel discussion, moderated by historian Paul Reeve and sponsored by the Mormon Transhumanist Association, brings together atheist leaders David Silverman and Joanne Hanks with BYU professors Richard Holzapfel and J.B. Haws to explore mutual misperceptions between Mormons and atheists. The conversation addresses stereotypes on both sides—including Mormon exclusivity and atheist immorality—while examining topics like baptism for the dead, church transparency about history, and whether religious belief constitutes “brainwashing” or represents a legitimate choice based on personal experience. The panelists ultimately find common ground in valuing charitable giving and civil dialogue, while disagreeing fundamentally about whether religious belief is intellectually honest and whether religion will persist or eventually disappear.

David Silverman, president of American Atheists, joins Mormon scholars J.B. Haws and Richard Holzapfel from BYU, along with ex-Mormon author Joanne Hanks, for a moderated discussion exploring mutual misconceptions between atheists and Mormons. The panelists examine perceptions of Mormon exclusivity, the theology of baptism for the dead, charitable giving, and whether religious belief constitutes “brainwashing” or personal choice. Held during the 2014 American Atheists convention in Salt Lake City, the conversation models civil dialogue across profound worldview differences.

Amit Goswami argues that quantum physics reveals a reality beyond space-time—a domain of potentiality from which consciousness chooses what becomes actual. He presents experimental evidence for nonlocal communication between correlated minds, showing that intention and meditation can produce measurable brain activity in distant subjects. Goswami applies these principles to health and healing, proposing that blocked emotions—particularly suppressed love associated with the heart chakra—can impair immune function and contribute to diseases like breast cancer. He advocates for a science that treats humans not as machines but as conscious beings capable of participating in their own healing through quantum leaps of insight and transformation.

The speaker examines the secularization thesis—the idea that scientific progress leads to religion’s decline—and finds it showing signs of age. Drawing on sociologist Robert Bellah’s work, he argues that religion, broadly defined as symbol systems that establish powerful moods and motivations, is deeply embedded in human evolutionary development and is not going away. He observes that secular narratives like environmentalism often take on religious functions, complete with concepts of original sin, redemption, and apocalypse. Scientists frequently cross into religious territory when making cosmic claims about humanity’s place in the universe, whether optimistic (like Carl Sagan’s “we are star stuff”) or pessimistic. The speaker concludes that religion is essentially a social technology—one that can be used for good or ill—and urges greater awareness of when we cross into religious territory in our discourse.

The MTA Barbershop Chorus performs a heartfelt rendition celebrating community and shared purpose. The piece opens with a scriptural invocation from Doctrine and Covenants 64:33, encouraging perseverance in well-doing as the foundation for a great work. The chorus’s harmonies evoke themes of peace, dreams, and spiritual renewal—a fitting tribute to the enduring legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.