This is a political article, but the phenomenon is the same for mormons and their desire to promote lies about themselves in the face of opposing facts.


http://www.salon.com/2017/03/27/the-science-of-blue-lies-theres-a-reason-trump-supporters-embrace-his-alternative-facts_partner/

"In a 2008 study of seven, nine and 11-year-old children — the first of its kind — Lee and colleagues found that children become more likely to endorse and tell blue lies as they grow older. For example, given an opportunity to lie to an interviewer about rule-breaking in the selection process of a school chess team, many were quite willing to do so, older kids more than younger ones. The children telling this lie didn’t stand to selfishly benefit; they were doing it on behalf of their school. This line of research finds that black lies drive people apart, white lies draw them together, and blue lies pull some people together while driving others away."