Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye(1979–2024)

Melissa Inouye, a professor of Chinese history at the University of Auckland, explores the concept of “religious technology”—the practical arts of channeling and containing divine experience through rituals, organizational structures, and sacred objects. Comparing the founding of the True Jesus Church in 1917 China with the emergence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she examines how charismatic movements capture “lightning in a bottle” through innovative practices like face-down baptism, glossolalia, and temple sealings. Inouye argues that maintaining the proper balance between charismatic power and institutional stability determines whether religious movements flourish or fade, and she reflects on how these technologies—ultimately made of living souls rather than hard materials—keep God’s power close at hand.

This panel discussion features keynote speakers Liz Parrish, CEO of BioViva, and Melissa Inouye, a scholar of Chinese Christianity, exploring the intersection of life extension, gene therapy, and religious meaning. Parrish discusses her company’s work on regenerative gene therapies and the ethics of expanding access to such treatments, while Inouye reflects on how her experience with cancer has deepened questions about embodiment, vulnerability, and divine capacity. The conversation touches on Mormon theology’s unique views of God’s body, suffering, and human potential.