I'd be interested to see how the clique tendencies relates to how long certain families have been in the Church. Mistrust of outsiders to the faith was a defense mechanism throughout the 19th century. As a convert, I've noticed that it's only the oldest and/or most conservative LDS families that are like this. Unhealed intergenerational trauma? If my family had been the measurement of my potential, I never would've had LDS friends and joined the Church. Thank God I wasn't treated like this.