 So with that we're going to go straight way into our speakers that our first speaker today is going to be Chris Bradford He is the vice president of the Mormon Transhumanist Association and Chris was born in Utah Soon moved to Washington DC then overseas for overseas for his father's employment He's lived in Egypt to Germany Jordan Pakistan Italy where he served a mission for the LDS Church He's a self-taught programmer. He manages social and mobile development at Ancestry comm He has a degree from Brigham Young University in Linguistics Chris and his wife Lucy have five sons and three daughters and Chris is passionate about science technology Religion philosophy and the performing arts. So with that, please welcome Chris Bradford I'd like to discuss some approaches Both philosophical and practical that I found effective in subverting dogma in an LDS context Title of my talk is wise as serpents harmless as doves And I'd like to talk about this both In and outside church functions themselves. How can we be wise as serpents and harmless as doves? Now before we get to the how It's probably important to talk about the what and the why for a moment What I am encouraging us to do is to draw on the insights of the parallels and Complements between Mormonism and transhumanism To help people get beyond perceived roadblocks and move in a fruitful direction towards synthesis Why I encourage this is twofold first since most of us have found ways to Synthesize or at least reconcile Mormon thought and transhumanism. We are well positioned to help others do the same and Second since most of us identify as Mormon We probably see value in the faith system and community a potential to move in a direction That we and hopefully a broadly inclusive we value a Side note for those who do not identify as Mormon while I am going to draw on Mormon Texts and cultural values for this talk the approaches that I discussed should be broadly applicable to many other communities as well Now on to the how When we think of wise serpents We may be drawn to the image of that old serpent, which is the devil from revelation And when we think of subversion, we're probably inclined to think of something like a wolf in sheep's clothing But in the context of Jesus instructions to his disciples, it's precisely the opposite Quote he said to them behold I send you forth as a sheep in the midst of wolves Not the other way around Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves When Moses led the children of Israel in the wilderness and they encountered deadly serpents He raised a serpent of brass on a pole and when the Israelites looked at the brass serpent They did not die from their snake bites The book of Mormon tells us that this brass serpent was a symbol of Christ and Jesus clearly sought to subvert the incorrect dogmas of his time So let's examine a bit how he went about doing it so that we might be as wise as that serpent First a couple of generalities Jesus stated think not that I am come to destroy the law Or the prophets I am not come to destroy but to fulfill If we have any hope of being effective among our brothers and sisters in the LDS faith We must reassure them and not merely through our words that we have not come to destroy their faith But to fulfill it This means among other things drawing on shared authoritative texts scriptures and words of church leaders to establish a communal bond Serving side-by-side in church assignments accepting callings in general Demonstrating that we love and value the community in a way that they can relate to and This reaches to the harmless as doves half of the equation The dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and we should try to communicate using an aesthetic that our community Associates with the Holy Spirit This is not to say that we can't be bold the Holy Spirit can be associated with boldness sharpness and power But we must be guided by the principles outlined in doctrine and covenants 121 by persuasion by long suffering by gentleness and meekness and by love Unfamed by kindness and pure knowledge Shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy and without guile reproving be times with sharpness when moved upon by the Holy Ghost and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love Toward him whom thou hast reproved Lest he esteem thee to be his enemy that he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death Now to some specifics Number one draw on the scriptures heavily Jesus quoted scripture frequently but often did so in a manner that opened up new ways of understanding familiar passages Most people have not read the scriptures in any great depth yet. They attach great value to them Proposing new interpretations of scripture is a highly valuable approach I found this especially effective among the youth who are hungry for the meat of the gospel Not just the milk that they got in their primary years Talk about the meanings of individual words talk about historical context talk about alternate translations Talk about the origins of particular passages Express number two express unusual perspectives and disagreements in non-threatening ways Some phrases that I found helpful include another possible way to look at that is or Something I found helpful is or sometimes I struggle with I Wonder whether we couldn't think about it like this Try for a yes and approach rather than a no, but approach and don't be afraid to speak up During a scouting trip for example some boys were talking about how evolution is bad And I told them that I didn't see any reason why God couldn't use evolution as a creative process and had no negative repercussions from the boys or their parents Number three don't be too concerned about using familiar language in unfamiliar ways While vagueness can obfuscate or be harmfully deceptive It can also build bridges. Think of these bridges as perhaps a rope bridge That serves as a guideline for the construction of a solid bridge of understanding later on In Dr. Nicovean it's 19 We even have God himself setting this example for us using the familiar terms endless and eternal in unusual ways Quote that it might work upon the hearts of the children of men altogether for my name's glory Number four be willing to challenge Assumptions directly one of my favorite examples is countering the idea usually from a well-known primary song that faith is like a little seed by reading from Alma quote Now we will compare the word To a see unto a seed and this is best done with concepts and examples that do not obviously undermine significant beliefs Allowing people to reconsider minor ways in which they may be mistaken lays important groundwork for more substantial self-examination Number five don't get involved in drawn-out back-and-forth arguments in a church setting Express your perspective and let others express theirs. You may be surprised at how many others share or appreciate your views number six Above all don't do any of this to gratify your own ego to show people how smart you are how much you know Yes, as you see positive results, it will feed your ego But that cannot be your motivation People will see right through that. This is probably the hardest aspect of subverting dogma at least for me if our brothers and sisters can see Christ in us and Can feel the Holy Spirit as we share our perspectives We can be wise as serpents and harmless as doves quote Till we all come in the unity of the faith unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ Speaking the truth in love make row up into him in all things Thank you. Any questions Brent So the question is In say a Sunday school setting have I ever come across people who are really hostile and who say would want to excommunicate near something Actually, I haven't found that in a Sunday school setting. I found that more on the internet than I have in Sunday school I Think really If you build on these principles that I laid out of really establishing shared values that you don't really encounter that much I've definitely had you know debates with people maybe in the hallway after a Sunday school class or something But usually very good-natured any others So the question is Do I see evolution as primarily a forward-looking thing as part of God's plan or also looking at our past if I understand correctly? I could I could see that Actually both ways I have no problems with the idea that past evolution Included involvement of God of a creator I would also be okay with the idea that we look at it primarily in an ongoing or forward-looking way Thanks