Is the 9/11 Truth Movement being influenced and/or directed by a concerted religious element? The connections that suggest that this actually happening might surprise you.

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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.

And of further interest to 9/11 Truth from an LDS perspective...

(10) Brigham Young University (BYU), an LDS-owned institution, continues to retain Dr. Steven Jones, a prominent and often-referenced member in the 9/11 Truth Movement, even though it publicly forced Dr. Jones to "retire". The claim by BYU was that it, "[P]lanned to review the [9/11 controlled demolition] paper to see if it met scientific standards of peer review. The university also expected to look at statements made by Jones at conferences and in the media and determine if Jones was appropriately distancing himself from BYU when he spoke about his explosives theory," - http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/1,1249,650200587,00.html .

The review was never completed because it became part of Dr. Jones' private retirement package negotiations.

(11) BYU continues to support Dr. Jones by providing him an office, access to its facilities, and access to its labs, even though it had "forced" his retirement - http://www.physics.byu.edu/directory.aspx?personID=36 .

(12) Dr. Jones explained at length during an April 2006 discussion about the connection between the Book of Mormon and the events of 9/11. Included in the discussion was how the Book's text prophesized the 9/11 tragedy and described the revelation of the "truth" by those that would go on to create the 9/11 Truth Movement - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6023596331085044923 . He also discusses that while it's obvious that the Book of Mormon foretold these "things", science will be needed to convince others.

Well... what do all these references mean when viewed collectively? While there's a range of possible theories or hypothesis, I'm proposing the following but realize it has yet to be "tested":

I hypothesize that a "group" exists within LDS that believes the Book of Mormon revealed the events of 9/11. This group also believes that the cause of the 9/11 attacks was by the government using the 19 hijackers as patsies (listen to Dr. Jones' discussion for confirmation). This group appears to have either the consent of LDS leadership (e.g., the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) or at least its neutrality because the publication of "The Shell Game" was not only promoted by a publisher of LDS works (in the form of CFI) but was further encouraged by the offering of a hefty advance to Mr. Alten.

The LDS leadership is very much a command and control structure and regulates its affairs tightly. "A great deal of effort is made to ensure that the [LDS leadership] organizations are united in purpose and policy," - click here . Thus, this group as a matter of Mormon faith MUST pursue the exposure of "truth" as it's been revealed in the Book of Mormon - http://www.greaterthings.com/News/911/BookofMormon/index.html .

This Mormon group, though, is cognizant of the negative perception that most Americans have of 9/11 Truthers. Dr. Jones' public and "forced" retirement by BYU certainly serves as an example on this point of perception - http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=117840 . The Mormon Church cannot be seen associating with "silly" people –not yet anyway.

Therefore, the group has taken due care in promoting its Book of Mormon inspired "revelations" by using third-party and seemingly "neutral" sources (e.g., Mr. Alten). The use of the Sweetwater Books label instead of the more realistic CFI, the retention of Ascot Media Group, Inc. to "quietly" promote the book via friendly (i.e., progressive) web sites, and the use of an "ownerless" web site that tracks but does not inform visitors of their privacy expectations are all examples of the care taken by the group to limit any association between a Mormon revelation group and 9/11 Truth Movement.

But do these activities mean that "The Shell Game" is LDS fiction, as CFI purpose statement might suggest? I think it might, if only from a logical perspective. I've made an inquiry to CFI into this connection but have yet to be responded to by its management. The book, though, appears to have been hyped to promote a matter of faith and revelation espoused by the Mormon Church in an attempt to fulfill a prophecy that the group specifically and Mormons generally are the bearers of "truth".

Thus, we have an important question to ask: Why would the Mormon Church - as represented by this group - be willing to risk its reputation by promoting and/or influencing 9/11 Truth? The answer is simple if you are a person of faith because it has been revealed in the 9:11 texts of the Book of Mormon - http://scriptures.lds.org/bm/contents .

"And because they did cast them all out, that there were none righteous among them, I did send down fire and destroy them, that their wickedness and abominations might be hid from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints whom I sent among them might not cry unto me from the ground against them," - III Nephi 9:11 (The destruction of WTC, the Pentagon, and Pennsylvania was wrought by God).

"...If it had not been for [God's] matchless power, and his mercy, and his long-suffering towards us, we should have unavoidably have been cut off from the face of the earth long before this period of time..." - Alma 9:11 (9/11was foretold and more intense evil will befall America if it does not repent).

"...After we had dwelt in the land for the space of twelve years...King Laman began to grow uneasy, lest by any means my people should wax strong in the land, and that they could not overpower them and bring them into bondage," - Mosiah 9:11 (The government uses evil to protect its interests in fear of the people).

"Now the people of Akish were desirous for gain, even as Akish was desirous for power; wherefore, the sons of Akish did offer them money, by which means they drew away the more part of the people after them," - Ether 9:11 (The WTC symbolizes American greed and its relinquishing of power to the government in favor of material gains – a hedonist, if ever there were one).

You get the idea. There are other prophecies supposedly in the 9:11 texts of Moroni, Helaman, II Nephi, and Mormon. What's important here is that faith alone CAN move mountains. Apparently, faith MUST also influence movements so that prophecies may be fulfilled - http://www.latterdayconservative.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=80 .

So, back to one of the initial questions I asked, "Does it matter where the source of revelation is coming from when it concerns 9/11 Truth?" I believe it does and should – especially in this instance if what I've hypothesized about a Mormon revelation group influencing the Movement is correct.

Why does it matter? The a priori acceptance via faith that the events of 9/11 were an "inside job" bias completely any attempt to review the available evidence objectively. Instead, the sole intent of applying faith as THE first filter to any review of 9/11 evidence would be to warp the same to accommodate your prophecies and make real your revelations. Any evidence that suggests otherwise is either discredited or discarded. People who question your hypothesis (i.e., your prophesized revelation of the "truth") are either incapable of understanding the "truth" because of the lack of faith (and implied acceptance) or are disinformation agents (e.g., government-managed cointelpro) that are confirmation of the government's complicity within the prophecies. In actuality, though, these aspersions only add to already pervasive bias and result in a further distancing from the real truth that resides in objective analysis.

Science is a system of knowledge which attempts to model objective reality, while faith is a strong belief in a Higher Power that controls human destiny. Which would you want on your side when trying to explain the events of 9/11? Personally, I'll pick science to explain the collapse of the WTC structures, et al. with no offense meant to faith.

Note:  With my last comments in mind, I may be construed as someone who supports the "Official Conspiracy Theory" but concerned about the connections raised by the publication of "The Shell Game".  I have no concern with the book being viewed as a fictional thriller, but its use by others (especially if the relgious connections are real) is potentially troublesome.

Authors Bio:
Wow! Has it been that long since last posting at OEN - more than two years? Apparently so!

I've been busy elsewhere (e.g., Disqus: http://disqus.com/C4H4AsH/ ), but certainly not as prolific as I was previously at OEN.

Well, I think I'll start visiting anew and read the latest and greatest proffered by the progressive left. The next, four years (it's January 2013 as of this posting) should prove... interesting to say the least. Admittedly, I was amazed and shocked at President Obama's re-election given the abject failure of his economic policies over the past four years. Seemingly, a majority of Americans endorse the notion of a government-only subsidence. Who knew? Maybe Fidel knew, but Raul... Raul is finding such a notion odious.

But I digress. I look forward to re-engaging the Left on issues like: global warming, healthcare, "The War on Women", and the 9/11 Truth Movement - assuming it's still viable... is it???

I suspect an economic downturn on continued stagnation for America, which should please progressives immensely.