"I do not take seriously any Liberal who is not a Christian, nor any Conservative who is not an Agnostic or Atheist." — Stanczyk
You cannot truly understand Mormonism unless you embrace heterodoxy, that is, until you stop allowing others to define truth for you. It is with this in mind that I put forth the following:What is Transfiguration?
Doctrine and Covenants, section sixty-three, verse fifty-one
reads that one day, “...children shall grow up until they become old; old men
shall die; but they shall not sleep in the dust; but they shall be changed in
the twinkling of an eye.” This is what is known in Mormonism as Translation, or permanent Transfiguration.
I believe the transition from a telestial or stellar (scattered, isolated) state of consciousness to a terrestrial
state (see Doctrine and Covenants, Section 76 for the most important and
illuminating text in all of Mormonism) also implies a moral transfiguration. Additionally,
I believe this shift is possible for some of us—but not all—preceding the
anticipated physical transfiguration during the so-called Millennium. I do not see this transfiguration as necessarily overcoming
physical or moral weakness, but rather overcoming egoism—or death, in a figurative or spiritual sense—which is in many cases the
source of our weakness. I believe figures like Jesus, Buddha, Gandhi, et cetera
were all able to undergo this transfiguration without an accompanying physical
transfiguration. In that sense they and others attained "Christ"
despite being mortal (I believe in the "legendary Jesus",
but strictly as a legend and not historical fact).
Being in a terrestrial or lunar (unified, enlightened) state of consciousness means
"knowing the knower", even though we have not yet obtained a
"fulness". This is where the proper but largely misunderstood concept
of grace comes into play. As Christians and Mormons, we personify the "Light of
Christ"—which is known in many different religious and philosophical traditions albeit by other names—as the corporeal Jesus and set him up as "the Way". I
do not mind this as long as we acknowledge that this Light
illuminates all religions and, in fact, every aspect of our lives. Furthermore,
the transition from a terrestrial to a celestial or solar (emanating, whole) state of consciousness means
"being the knower", that is, having a fulness of knowledge and love.
This is what it means to become a god in Mormonism.
It is in this way that I have a deep and enduring testimony
of Mormonism while simultaneously being an Agnostic and a Transhumanist. In
other words, I submit that all religion is merely self-fulfilling prophecy—a dim outline—adding
that Mormonism is particularly effective at arousing and pointing the mind to
the loftiest of possibilities, thereby provoking the "strenuous
mood", so to speak—even to the extent that it arouses fear and disgust in others.
This is why I believe it is not impossible that Joseph Smith and other mystics throughout the ages have literally mingled with post-humans, the evidence being that Joseph did not always seem to comprehend the
nuance or profundity of his own revelations.
From this religious inclination sprouts art, (then) philosophy, (then)
science, and "humanity" itself. For the record, this is why I consider the New Atheist movement short-sighted and ignorant despite that fact that it renders the invaluable service of removing the stumbling blocks of dogma and
blind faith that beset us all, thereby helping religion to "shed its
skin".
