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Some will be driven up a wall, that's true. But what really irritates most Mormons is the total ignorance and intellectual dishonesty of the majority of those who make the criticisms. Indeed, criticism can be very helpful. Honest criticism is welcome, from within and without the church. However, when people start spouting off about Mormons praying Hitler into Heaven three times or this whole "talking animals" bit or they wear funny underwear stuff, these "critics" veer into dishonesty.

You know, (here's a scoop for the media) Joseph Smith once said that the moon was made of green cheese. He was kidding, of course, but for generations after, opponents of the church used that statement to "prove" he was a false prophet. They knew it was a joke and yet they presented it as truth.

If you go to these "critics" websites, you will find quotations from church leaders. Some are footnoted, others are not. Some just have a name attributed and nothing else and we are left to believe that they were church leaders to. I looked up a number of those names and discovered that they were actually critics of the church not leaders. No wonder their credentials were left to inference.

Many quotes are judiciously edited to contain only the words and phrases the "critics" want their audience to read. The use of "..." is wide spread. Frequently, if you look up one of the "damning" quotes, you will find that if you read the surrounding paragraphs and the words that the "..." cut out, the quote has a totally different meaning than what the "critics" led the reader to believe.

So yes, there will be Mormons who cannot take the criticisms. Some do not have as strong a testimony as others. We are all at different maturity levels. But it must also be understood that much, if not the majority, of the criticism the church draws results from ignorance or willful misinterpretations and that wears on even those of us who don't normally respond to this junk.

I think the press coverage of their religion would drive them right up the wall.

Yes and No.

"There's no such thing as bad publicity."

For example, the way the Press openly lies when it talks about consevatives angers me. When the press gets my religion wrong I get bothered too. But then I think of it in the bigger picture. When the Mainstream media states falsely, "Mormons believe XYZ", I can then take the opportunity to clarify, expound and blather on about what I really believe.

The rumor mill was ripe when Jesus walked the earth. A lot of lies were said about him and he was eventually killed on the cross for some of the lies. But just about anyone who was anyone had heard about "this Jesus" fellow. Most people have heard about Mormons today because of many of the media lies told about it over the years.