Why so sensitive?

When those outside of Mormonism write articles about the church or articles are written on the subject, Mormons usually bristle at the descriptions and characterizations and claim the author is biased or "has an axe to grind."

I think it's more a simple fact that from the outside, Mormonism looks kinda wacky. But if you're in the church, you filter everything through your "believing" eyes and twist everything around so it appears normal.

So when an outsider calls it as they see it, the church member is offended and cries persecution. This emotional reaction is only exacerbated by the clear and explicit direction from the Brethren to avoid exposure to anything critical of the church or even anything that may portray the church in a critical manner. And objective critiques of the church certainly fall under this description.