Much the same can be said of academe, "which has failed as much as any institution in failing to take religion very seriously as a political, sociological, economic and historical force." Young said he wonders at all the hand-wringing over the political force of evangelical Christians in American politics, and laid part of the blame on media that he said also fail to take religion seriously.

The current political climate that some perceive as blatant anti-Mormonism doesn't worry Young. "I do think having more attention is helpful," he said, adding that most people don't believe Latter-day Saints are "evil or pernicious. They don't understand us, and they think we're weird."

Though all the attention being generated about the LDS Church by Mitt Romney's candidacy isn't positive, Young said he doesn't advocate forming any kind of "anti-defamation league" to fight misperceptions. Instead, he believes, factual information will eventually filter out to those who are looking for it.

"I've found that there is only a limited amount of mind-changing I can do when I'm suing someone."

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E-mail: carrie@desnews.com