Ted Cruz spoke at a Christian conference in November where a pastor advocated forcefully for the executive of gays and lesbians – and then cheerfully introduced the Texas senator.

The National Religious Liberties Conference in Iowa is the brainchild of Kevin Swanson, a Colorado pastor and radio host.

'Yes, Leviticus 20:13 calls for the death penalty for homosexuals,' Swanson boomed onstage at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.

'Yes, Romans chapter 1, verse 32 – the Apostle Paul does say that homosexuals are worthy of death. His words not mine!'

'And I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!' Swanson continued, more and more feverish. 'And I am not ashamed of the truth of the word of God. And I am willing to go to jail!'

HE LOVES HIM SOME JESUS: Ted Cruz spoke at a November conference in Iowa whose organizer told 1,700 attendees that gays should be put to death

KILL THE GAYS: Pastor Kevin Swanson said in November that the Bible justifies executing homosexuals – and later introduced an enthusiastic Ted Cruz to the stage

EAGER BEAVER: Cruz, a right-wing Texas senator, spoke at the conference despite the incendiary rhetoric from its organizer

Swanson allowed that the time for mass-slayings of gay men and women had 'not yet' arrived, but his meaning was grasped by a cheering throng.

Video footage shows him at the same conference as Cruz's set-up man when the senator took the stage.

'Now, my friends, let me introduce to you the next candidate for the office of President of the United States,' he said. 'Folks, please make welcome Senator Ted Cruz.'

Cruz, then in the middle of a fierce battle to lock down support for the Iowa caucuses, was courting every religious broadcaster and megachurch preacher he could find.

'Any president that doesn't start the day on his knees isn't fit to be commander in chief,' he told a crowd estimated at 1,700 people.

Former Arkansas gov. Mike Huckabee and sitting Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal also spoke to the conference. They were still presidential candidates at the time.

Huckabee insisted that same-sex marriage 'is not law' in the United States, despite a landmark Supreme Court ruling that came just months earlier.

Hearly 60 per cent of Republicans in the Hawkeye State identify themselves as evangelical or born-again Christians.

Cruz went on to win the caucuses narrowly over Donald Trump.

His father Rafael, a quasi-pastor himself, also addressed the religious liberties conference.