 Our next speaker is going to be Kathy Wilson, and she is going to be speaking on the subject of From Mormon to Mystic. Kathy is an artist and has been an owner of several small businesses. Currently, she is the owner of Sego Art and Frame in Salt Lake City. She is the mother of five children and a grandmother. Her interests, other than the arts and humanities, are issues regarding well-being through understanding the health and evolution of the human body. Her community involvement includes politics, projects supporting the arts, as well as organizing and fundraising for nonprofit and educational programs. Please welcome Kathy Wilson. Thank you, and thank you, Lincoln, for the energy, the intelligence, the determination you put into this organization because it does make a difference. New, let's see here, I'll better start on the right page. Being a Mormon is a great way to grow up in the West, especially if the population is mostly Mormon. If you are not Mormon, then that is a story for another day. The many accounts of pioneers crossing the plains with hand carts and covered wagons following what they believed to be the will of God gives one a sense of purpose, value, and gratitude for the lifestyle and the freedom made possible through their sacrifices. Those strong belief systems developed early on in one's life taught through church history and doctrine helped to strengthen Mormon youth and assist young members to maneuver through sometimes very difficult times. But after reaching adulthood, however, and oftentimes before, it becomes obvious that life has more twists and turns, opportunities and pitfalls that present themselves in a limited belief system can satisfy. And in an ever-changing world, the doctrine of the church has not changed all that much in almost 200 years. Obedience to the leadership of the church is the guidance given to members to be in good standing. But obedience to what? The early leaders' interpretation of the scriptures, the state president or the bishops, latest admonition or a general conference speaker warning non-conformists to comply with church standards. Many members at this point in their lives find that the patriarchal structure of authority in the church is just too controlling and does not allow for enough personal freedom of thought and belief. And as a Mormon woman, and also one who has always been curious about why some beliefs are more true than others, I constantly have found myself analyzing everything about the church, the one named after Jesus Christ, and the spirituality it professes to have a corner on. The more I questioned the beliefs of my youth, the more I found myself drawn to the mysteries of the metaphysical. I realize now that everything, including the church, is evolving and that life is a more incredible experience than we have the capacity to comprehend. As limited as our understanding of the nature of things is, the possibilities for progression and evolution are endless. Eternal progression and intelligence are key Mormon concepts. My favorite scripture is taken from Dr. Inman Covenants 93. The glory of God is intelligence, or in other words, light and truth. How is intelligence both light and truth? What can be the progression of consciousness and the human body, and how does intelligence guide science and technology to make progression possible here on earth and also eternally? The Mormon Trent's Humanist Association is also interested in asking these questions, and they are not afraid to think out of the box. The search for knowledge and a quest for understanding the nature of spirit in the human body has made me a member and a supporter of the MTA. Transfiguration and the Resurrection are a focus of the MTA membership, as well as the search for the latest technological information justifying the Mormon beliefs that we are evolving into something else, perhaps even being able to reconstruct our bodies. New and valid information can come from a variety of sources. It can come from channel sources, such as a patriarchal blessing, or one's ability or gift to see or hear beyond the normal frequencies of the senses. New scientific studies and the media are great sources of information. Brian Green's books and his series on PBS explaining the nature of string theory, quantum physics and entangled particles are great examples of the latest scientific research. As new discoveries are being made in science and technology, and they are being made on an exponential rate, I feel that a belief system should be able to expand along with the ability to acquire new information. Although I believe most Mormon doctrine to be true, I also believe that there are, in addition, thousands of sources for true and divine information about who we are, our bodies, science, and our future given to us on a regular basis. The concepts of mystics and metaphysics fit very nicely with Mormonism. Christian teachings of the resurrection and the fullness of times are also metaphysical concepts, those that are beyond the understanding of modern physics. Joseph Smith was a mystic, as well as a channel for spiritual information. The very core of Mormonism is based on the story that Moroni, who lived on earth 1,000 years ago, was able to reappear and guide Joseph to the golden plates. In 1829, according to Dr. Incovenance 128, and the history of Joseph Smith, not only did John the Baptist reappear, but also Christ's apostles, Peter, James, and John. They apparently had the responsibility to ordain Joseph and Oliver Cowdery, restoring the Iranian and Melchizedek priesthoods to the earth, and authorizing Joseph and Oliver to organize the new church. Non-believers denied that these things ever happened. Skeptics question them, and even believers admit that they are metaphysical in nature. The ninth article of faith reads, we believe all that God has revealed, all that he does now reveal, and we believe that he has yet to reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God. I have wondered how God is to reveal this new information, and if it could be through the angels mentioned in Matthew, chapter 1, verse 37, for the Son of man shall come, and he shall send his angels before him. And also in Dr. Incovenance 128, quote, and the voice of Michael, the archangel, the voice of Gabriel, and of Raphael, and of diverse angels, end of quote, are to take part in the new dispensation initiated by the fullness of times. I have systematically and critically analyzed hundreds of channeled books and articles pertaining to the human body, consciousness, scientific principles, and the universe. All of this information claims to originate from spiritual sources, and much of it from Archangel Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. Although the channels are not Mormon in most cases, I have found that there is little contradiction for the most part, and very much alignment with Mormon doctrine. The law of relativity states that time is a function of space. Time, as we understand, it does not exist without accompanying space. If a whole is the sum of its parts, and if we are some of the parts created by the big bang billions of years ago, then there should be some connection back to the one. Things should still exist as a whole on some level or in some dimension. These concepts have raised some interesting questions for me. Could what we believe to be our individual thoughts be connected to a greater consciousness and that collective consciousness be connected to something similar to the mind of God? Are we living in a dreamscape? And how do our basic heartfelt instincts of love, imagination, and intent affect the reality that we experience? Some scientists are interested in these questions also. By studying the effects of consciousness with those of Newtonian physics, Amit Goswami, a professor of physics at the University of Oregon, in his book, The Self-Aware Universe, contends that consciousness is the force creating our universe. And in her book, The Field, Lynn McTaggart utilizes data and research of 80 scientists to describe a unifying force found throughout the universe. The constant flow of new data and discovery is leading the way to a greater understanding of the magnificent world that we live in. As science, research, and technology are helping to explain the nature of reality, it is also helping humanity to understand the body and how to live a longer, healthier, and more productive life. The MTA represents some of the very best aspects of Mormonism, those of truth-seeking, intelligence, and faith in the future. Following the principles of a healthy lifestyle, we will soon be able to extend our lives by more than 20 healthy years. And technology is helping humanity accept the notion that we may become superhuman in the knots of our future and may be able to extend our lives indefinitely. The transformation of what we are and who we can be is now being realized and happening as we speak in more ways than we can imagine. Any questions? Okay. Transhumanism comes from, is it exactly what we're telling you? I believe that. The question is, is our own ignorance and level of understanding about the universe and our bodies and how we are evolving, the limiting factor basically, is that what you're saying? And I totally believe that. I believe that as we, as our consciousness and our understanding and our ability to create and intend our bodies to evolve, it will happen because that's the force that's actually moving us in the right direction. Any other questions? Yes. In describing the complex consciousness. Uh-huh. A fullness of times and understanding that we are moving into a whole new awareness and the fullness of times, and you might call it the millennium, you might call it a lot of different things, but we are becoming more connected. The internet technology is creating all of these different aspects to allow us to see a huge, huge picture. We cannot comprehend it at this point. We have to extend our ability to pull in all this information and comprehend it. And that's our limiting factor at this point.