Is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) (formerly known as the Mormon Church) influencing how people interpret the 9/11 attacks and what they foretell for the future of America? Some casual yet very real connections seem to suggest such an influence. A legitimate question that should be asked with respect to this influence is, "Does it matter where the source is coming from when it concerns 9/11 Truth?" I would answer that it's almost always a concern when an organized religion promotes and influences critical thinking on a secular issue like 9/11.
No doubt, readers at OpEdNews.com have either seen or read the many articles promoting the recently released fictional thriller "The Shell Game" written by Steve Alten ( summary of one author's articles ). A quick summary of the plot without spoiling the details – the novel opens in the present and builds upon what's been "uncovered" by the 9/11 Truth Movement today. The book then progresses forward and reveals the dire consequences for America and its people at the hands of the unchecked neo-con masters. In the future, America is forced to deal with yet another and more deadly false flag operation on its own citizens and asked to unite its collective will once again against a foreign threat from the Middle East. Only this time, the people know better!
I know, the scenario isn't very original but it serves two important purposes. The public purpose is that readers will be prompted to ask serious questions about the "initial" false flag operation of 9/11. Conveniently, both the book and its associated Internet presence provide a number of links to on-line 9/11 Truth Movement resources. The private purpose is that the book represents a fulfillment of Mormon prophecies that foretold of 9/11, the enslavement of American by its own government, and the saving of America by God's people – the Mormons. Therefore, "The Shell Game" is meant to influence and direct both Truthers and more importantly - "Faithers" - about the massive con that was pulled on them by the U.S. government (public) as foretold by the Book of Mormon (private).
The beauty of the novel's plot is that it uses a proven information vehicle similar to the one found in George Orwell's classic "1984".
"Throughout history fiction and cautionary tales have had profound impacts on people's thinking. Orwell's "1984" woke many of us up to the dangers of a totalitarian state. It helped many of us see through the lovely names the neo-cons gave to horrible programs. The film "V for Vendetta," has obviously affected many, as evidenced by 9/11 truth videos made using clips from that film... So, we see that fiction can be powerful. The growing interest in expanding readership of "The Shell Game," indicates that this very well may be one of those important works of fiction," - click here .
"The Shell Game", then, is being offered as the newest (and presumed best) tool in educating Americans about the false flag operation of 9/11. This seems straightforward enough and any assistance in expanding the truth is welcomed, right? Well, before a "seal of approval" is slapped on this new tool, let's confirm the sources associated with it.
A number of casual connections between "The Shell Game" and LDS are revealed when one does a little "digging". The following is a summary of evidence that is readily available via Internet searches and intuitive follow-up from web site perusals.
(1) "The Shell Game" is published by Cedar Fort, Inc. or CFI (dba Sweetwater Books). CFI is a firm that's interested in "...publish[ing] LDS fiction and non-fiction, generally... more than ninety projects each year. We are always willing to look at works that can crossover to the national market. We are currently accepting submissions for fiction, non-fiction, "How-to" books, and books about healthy living," - http://www.cedarfort.com/submission.html . "The Shell Game" represents the first book published under the Sweetwater Books imprint.
(2) In July 2007, CFI offered Mr. Alten one of its two largest advances ever ($50,000 USD) for his scripting "The Shell Game" - http://www.religionnewsblog.com/19038/david-ridges . This book is also the first that Mr. Alten has published through CFI.
(3) Mr. Alten is pleased that LDS picked up the book because it represents a "spreading" of the "truth" to areas thought untamable. His comment on using an LDS publisher, "To my delight, this book was published by a Mormon conservative group out of Utah – a traditional red state." - http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20080109113521459 .
(4) CFI maintains a web page on "The Shell Game" that contains reviews and a video on the novel - http://www.cedarfort.com/sweetwater/shellgame.html . However, Mr. Alten and his supporters ONLY direct people's attention to this web site – http://www.theshellgame.net/ , whose ownership is unknown.
(5) The web site http://www.theshellgame.net/ is registered to "someone" via a proxy company, Domains by Proxy, Inc. - click here . This company ensures that your identity as the domain owner is kept hidden - obviously for personal information reasons.
(6) The web site http://www.theshellgame.net/ collects information on viewers of its pages via a hidden link located near the copyright notice that is readily visible when the page's source code is viewed. The information is collected by http://www.statcounter.com/ . However, the unknown owner of the web site has not published a privacy policy that informs the viewer what it does with this collected information.
(7) The media contact referenced on the web site is Blanco and Peace, LTD - http://www.theshellgame.net/media.htm , the same public relations firm used by Fox Network for some of their programming - http://www.lissypeace.com/clients.htm - (interesting but immaterial here). When contacted, Blanco and Peace revealed that they represent Mr. Alten, the author, but they do not lay claim to the http://www.theshellgame.net/ web site.
(8) CFI has actively promoted "The Shell Game" within the LDS community alongside other titles released around the same time (e.g., "Latter-day Saint Heroes and Heroines", "When I First Met the Prophet", "Finding Faith", and "Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys") - http://www.cedarfort.com/news/index.html . "The Shell Game" is conspicuously out of place with regard to CFI's typically-published works and especially for January 2008 - http://www.cedarfort.com/newreleases/jan2008/books.html .
(9) To further promote "The Shell Game", an intensive grassroots advertising campaign was launched by Ascot Media Group, Inc. - http://ascotmedia.com/news.html , starting in the fall 2007. This company's origin and Mr. Alten's association with it are somewhat questionable - click here . But it appears as though people were retained to "promote" the novel at the grassroots level. This might explain the tireless efforts by some to promote "The Shell Game" across many progressive web sites with convenient links back to http://www.theshellgame.net/ , whose ownership continues to remain unknown.
