"Early accounts show the church's founders, including Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, tearfully resisted 'plural marriage.' They complied not out of eagerness for some hot 19th-century swinging, but from a conviction that an authentic Old Testament practice was being divinely restored. Many of these early marriages were primarily 'dynastic' — ceremonial, that is, and not romantic or intimate in any way."

He also takes on columnist Christopher Hitchens for his assertion that the LDS Church is "an officially racist organization," noting "other major U.S. denominations had racist and segregationist dogma on their books until the 1970s as well. And today, the church has more than half a million black members, including prominent leaders, both here and abroad."

To sum up, Jennings said he's "tired of being a punch line and a punching bag. If the only way to get Mormonism out of the arena is to get Romney out of the race, then I'm counting the days. This is one Mormon who would rather have a little civility and tolerance than one of our own in the White House."

The piece makes Jennings one of the — if not the — first high-profile Latter-day Saint who is not identified as a church leader to defend the faith in a widely read public forum.

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E-mail: carrie@desnews.com

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