Pedophilia and blackmail

[Juliet]

If it turned out that a politician had committed pedophilia, if he came out and confessed, would we forgive him? Knowing that if he felt like he couldn't be forgiven he would never confess, and therefore be blackmailed into hurting the country in exchange for freedom?

We need to make it safe for good guys caught up in the satanic system to confess their sins and be forgiven so they cannot be blackmailed. If that doesn't happen then we will never find politicians willing to do the right thing because they have all been turned to the dark side, and now it is a matter of turning them back to the light. It won't happen unless we let them know that while we do not condone pedophilia, we do condone repentance and will forgive those who come forward with the truth so they can come forward no matter what they get blackmailed with.

[davedan]

Wow!!! You are on to something big Juliet. It may be that you cannot rise in the current system without committing such vile acts. Then people who want to get out feel stuck, that they have committed such heinous sins that they are beyond the reach of Christ's mercy. so, they stay in and continue to support the current Satanic system.

But the Book of Mormon teaches that the Lamanites overcame the Gadiatons by preaching to the more wicked of them the gospel of Jesus Christ (ie repentance, mercy, grace)

However, another aspect is the threat of harm to themselves and innocent family.

Sherom believed that he had committed the unpardonable sin. He maybe overcame this by 1. acceptance of Christ, 2. public confession, 3. and voluntary submission to penalty/punishment for crimes.

It may be that a full public confession would protect family, because people would know to watch out for them and if anything happened, they would know it was they system that was targeting them. Also, freely submitting to the punishment would help us know that their testimony was true, and help us learn more about this secret system. These people would in a way "seal their testimony with their own blood" like Joseph Smith. Capital punishment not necessarily required. This is NOT "blood atonement." But I believe this IS what Brigham Young was trying to talk about.

The current Gadiantons like to send us false defectors who claim to be insiders and claim to tell us what its like on the inside. But you know they are false because if they were true insiders, they would be required to have engaged in the highest most vile and heinous acts (prevents infiltration), which they never confess to and never accept punishment for.

the Holy Temple works the opposite, The Holy Temple prevents infiltration by evil by expecting righteousness and holiness that evil people just can't bare to live. In the Millennium, the temple will be used as a tool to judge our leaders based on virtue. (not merit or fame or power or other criteria)

I believe this is exactly the mechanism by which the malefactor crucified next to Jesus was forgiven.

This may be a very powerful idea to shine light on and bring down the whole current system.

[davedan]

The more wicked (high-level) Gadiantons likely really know that God is real because they know that that Satan is real. So, it may be very powerful to know that mercy is still possible for them.

However, this is maybe a bit different than a usual plea deal. Usually you get a lighter sentence for ratting out higher-ups. But in this case, its the higher-ups who publically confess and accept their punishments. Or, how can we trust what they are saying?

But it would take someone who really is dreading eternal punishment, and is really seeking forgiveness.

[davedan]

Helaman 6:37 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did hunt the band of robbers of Gadianton; and they did preach the word of God among the more wicked part of them, insomuch that this band of robbers was utterly destroyed from among the Lamanites.

[Benjamin_LK]

Keep him oUT of callings that put him with children/youth.

[brianj]

The more wicked (high-level) Gadiantons likely really know that God is real because they know that that Satan is real. So, it may be very powerful to know that mercy is still possible for them.

You are making assumptions that I don’t believe are warranted. Reviewing the establishment of secret conspiracies in Ether, I don’t find any reference to these people coming to know Satan and who he really is. The adversary works by convincing people that he doesn’t exist or that he is God, not by being completely honest with them.


Where’s the benefit to anybody in qualifying for outer darkness? The most wicked people I have known seem to believe either that all will be saved no matter what, or that this life is all there is.

[Robin Hood]

If it turned out that a politician had committed pedophilia, if he came out and confessed, would we forgive him? Knowing that if he felt like he couldn't be forgiven he would never confess, and therefore be blackmailed into hurting the country in exchange for freedom?

We need to make it safe for good guys caught up in the satanic system to confess their sins and be forgiven so they cannot be blackmailed. If that doesn't happen then we will never find politicians willing to do the right thing because they have all been turned to the dark side, and now it is a matter of turning them back to the light. It won't happen unless we let them know that while we do not condone pedophilia, we do condone repentance and will forgive those who come forward with the truth so they can come forward no matter what they get blackmailed with.

Very uncomfortable with this approach.
I care not one jot that a paedophile could be blackmailed.
They need to be exposed, punished, and our children protected.

[mes5464]

I think that the only appropriate criminal punishment for such offenses is the death penalty.
Why? Because you can't completely repent of them. You can't restore what you took/broke.
What crimes deserve capital punishment?
Murder, rape, incest, molestation. These are crimes that you can't make amends for because you can't give back what you took.

Mark 9:42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.
Luke 17:2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
Matthew 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

[Juliet]

I think that the only appropriate criminal punishment for such offenses is the death penalty.
Why? Because you can't completely repent of them. You can't restore what you took/broke.
What crimes deserve capital punishment?
Murder, rape, incest, molestation. These are crimes that you can't make amends for because you can't give back what you took.

Mark 9:42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.
Luke 17:2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
Matthew 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Whose responsibility is it to carry out capital punishment when the police and courts are many times complicit in the very secret societies that make oaths to protect each other? If you really believe this, would you be willing to join a militia and carry out justice for the innocent?

[davedan]

The more wicked (high-level) Gadiantons likely really know that God is real because they know that that Satan is real. So, it may be very powerful to know that mercy is still possible for them.

You are making assumptions that I don’t believe are warranted. Reviewing the establishment of secret conspiracies in Ether, I don’t find any reference to these people coming to know Satan and who he really is. The adversary works by convincing people that he doesn’t exist or that he is God, not by being completely honest with them.


Where’s the benefit to anybody in qualifying for outer darkness? The most wicked people I have known seem to believe either that all will be saved no matter what, or that this life is all there is.

Yes, I am making assumptions.

Yes, absolutely, Satan does work by initially getting people to believe that he DOES NOT exist. But after they are in, some people eventually realize Satan DOES exist (and God DOES exist) and that is when they want to get out but falsely believe that it is now too late (awful chains).

2 Nephi 28:22 And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance.

[Rand]

If his/her power and status are still more important to him/her than becoming clean, they are not truly repentant anyway. Confessing your sins is a prerequisite to forgiveness. If our bigger and controlling interest is in preserving our status, reputation etc, it seems to not rise to the level of true repentance. Look at Shiz and Coriantumr. He wanted the destruction of human life and the suffering to stop, just not bad enough to give his life for it to stop. Yet, look at how much life he had when it was all said and done.

[Robin Hood]

If his/her power and status are still more important to him/her than becoming clean, they are not truly repentant anyway. Confessing your sins is a prerequisite to forgiveness. If our bigger and controlling interest is in preserving our status, reputation etc, it seems to not rise to the level of true repentance. Look at Shiz and Coriantumr. He wanted the destruction of human life and the suffering to stop, just not bad enough to give his life for it to stop. Yet, look at how much life he had when it was all said and done.

A bit like St Augustine when he said "Lord make me chaste; but not just yet".

[mes5464]

I think that the only appropriate criminal punishment for such offenses is the death penalty.
Why? Because you can't completely repent of them. You can't restore what you took/broke.
What crimes deserve capital punishment?
Murder, rape, incest, molestation. These are crimes that you can't make amends for because you can't give back what you took.

Mark 9:42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.
Luke 17:2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
Matthew 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Whose responsibility is it to carry out capital punishment when the police and courts are many times complicit in the very secret societies that make oaths to protect each other? If you really believe this, would you be willing to join a militia and carry out justice for the innocent?

1. I believe that we all should join militias as we should always exercise our rights, a militia being one of them.
2. I believe that the militia should first direct it's attention to removing the corruption and criminals found in the government.
3. Once the government is clean the criminals should be turned over to the government to receive a trial of their peers.

Does this answer your question?

[oneClimbs]

"Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more. By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them." (D&C 58:42-43)

Whether someone is a pedophile, a murderer, or a full-on corrupt scumbag, they can all find forgiveness and do much good. Think of Zeezrom, Alma the Elder, Alma the Younger, the sons of Mosiah, consider Corianton, David, Paul, etc. We don't really know the history of every scriptural figure and what sins they have committed. But we see many examples of people who were once the "very vilest of sinners."

Note what it said about the sons of Mosiah "...for they were the very vilest of sinners. And the Lord saw fit in his infinite mercy to spare them; " (Mosiah 28:4)

Those who have been forgiven of the greatest sins seem to have the deepest appreciation for that forgiveness and a desire to save others. The Savior taught in a wonderful parable:

"There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged." (Luke 7:41-43)

So we should not discount the vilest sinners since they may have the greatest capacity to feel the impact of God's mercy. Forgiveness is not the capacity to look past the minor indiscretions of a nice person, it is to withhold judgment from a serial child rapist and murderer a pray that that soul can find mercy. To allow them to go through the process, like Alma the younger where they are racked by their sins and find deliverance in Christ. True, I wouldn't advise putting that person in a place where they could be tempted again, but should we not hope and pray for those people that are the vilest among us? Not only because their soul has worth but because they could feel the greatest impact of grace and do much good in the world when freed of those chains?

What does it say about us when we wish to simply dispose of them like they are trash. True, their actions are vile, but their soul has worth and Jesus would lay down his life again even to save the vilest among us.

[mes5464]

What does it say about us when we wish to simply dispose of them like they are trash. True, their actions are vile, but their soul has worth and Jesus would lay down his life again even to save the vilest among us.

A person can and is forgiven for their sins in the sight of God and Jesus Christ but He never promised a person exemption from the criminal punishment of the laws of the land. A pedophile can repent and be forgiven by God and yet still serve a prison sentence. The choice to forgive a criminal from the punishment of the earthly law rests solely with the victim and no one else. All the victim needs to do to grant forgiveness and mercy is to refuse to press charges, and that is completely appropriate if they want to do that. It is, however, completely in appropriate for the government to grant mercy and forgiveness, their duty is to adhere to and enforce the law as it is written. Government represents justice (not mercy) in this case and should take actions in accordance with the law.

Further, on p. 63, Spencer W Kimball's book, "The Miracle of Forgiveness" he quotes President David O. McKay: “Your virtue is worth more than your life . . . preserve your virtue even if you lose your lives.” A lot of people take this as a criticism of the victim, i.e. "you should have died before you let someone rape you." I take a completely different perspective on this council, you should preserve and defend your virtue even if it means you have to kill your attacker, and if you die in the processes, know that it was worth it. The victim isn't at fault for being raped (especially in the case of a child) but the victim is completely justified in taking the life of their attacker in order to preserve their virtue.

With that in mind, I believe the government is an extension of the victim to do for them that which they were not able to do for themselves. As an example, the government seeks justice for the murder victim because they are dead and can no longer do that for themselves. I believe that the government must deliver the punishment that the victim would have used in the moment to defend themselves, thus if someone tries to kill you, you kill them in self defense. If someone is trying to rape you, you kill them to stop the rape. Therefore, the appropriate punishment for such crimes, when delivered by the government, should be equal.

To be clear I equate crimes like murder, rape, etc as being impossible to restore or pay restitution, therefore I think they are capital crimes. God might not agree with me and I expect to find that out one day. In the meantime, based on the light and knowledge I have right now, I would support capital punishment for such crimes. Additionally, I do believe in forgiveness and mercy, I simply do not support escaping the criminal consequences even though you are forgiven.

An example would be:

The scoutmaster of a ward goes to his bishop and confesses to molesting a boy scout in his care and he seeks forgiveness. Yet, the bishop is still obligated to report the crime to the government authorities. Not only that, he should council the scoutmaster to submit to and confess his crime to the authorities. I also believe that it would be far more merciful to punish the scoutmaster with the death penalty than to imprison him for a period of time and then treat him as a criminal for the rest of his life after he is released from prison.

Doctrine and Covenants 42
79 And it shall come to pass, that if any persons among you shall kill they shall be delivered up and dealt with according to the laws of the land; for remember that he hath no forgiveness; and it shall be proved according to the laws of the land.

Doctrine and Covenants 42
18 And now, behold, I speak unto the church. Thou shalt not kill; and he that kills shall not have forgiveness in this world, nor in the world to come.
19 And again, I say, thou shalt not kill; but he that killeth shall die.
20 Thou shalt not steal; and he that stealeth and will not repent shall be cast out.
21 Thou shalt not lie; he that lieth and will not repent shall be cast out.
22 Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else.
23 And he that looketh upon a woman to lust after her shall deny the faith, and shall not have the Spirit; and if he repents not he shall be cast out.
24 Thou shalt not commit adultery; and he that committeth adultery, and repenteth not, shall be cast out.
25 But he that has committed adultery and repents with all his heart, and forsaketh it, and doeth it no more, thou shalt forgive;
26 But if he doeth it again, he shall not be forgiven, but shall be cast out.
27 Thou shalt not speak evil of thy neighbor, nor do him any harm.
28 Thou knowest my laws concerning these things are given in my scriptures; he that sinneth and repenteth not shall be cast out.

Alma 1
13 And thou hast shed the blood of a righteous man, yea, a man who has done much good among this people; and were we to spare thee his blood would come upon us for vengeance.
14 Therefore thou art condemned to die, according to the law which has been given us by Mosiah, our last king; and it has been acknowledged by this people; therefore this people must abide by the law.
15 And it came to pass that they took him; and his name was Nehor; and they carried him upon the top of the hill Manti, and there he was caused, or rather did acknowledge, between the heavens and the earth, that what he had taught to the people was contrary to the word of God; and there he suffered an ignominious death.

[Kaarno]

I think that the only appropriate criminal punishment for such offenses is the death penalty.
Why? Because you can't completely repent of them. You can't restore what you took/broke.
What crimes deserve capital punishment?
Murder, rape, incest, molestation. These are crimes that you can't make amends for because you can't give back what you took.

Mark 9:42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.
Luke 17:2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
Matthew 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Whose responsibility is it to carry out capital punishment when the police and courts are many times complicit in the very secret societies that make oaths to protect each other? If you really believe this, would you be willing to join a militia and carry out justice for the innocent?

1. I believe that we all should join militias as we should always exercise our rights, a militia being one of them.
2. I believe that the militia should first direct it's attention to removing the corruption and criminals found in the government.
3. Once the government is clean the criminals should be turned over to the government to receive a trial of their peers.

Does this answer your question?

Count me in as well!

[oneClimbs]

A person can and is forgiven for their sins in the sight of God and Jesus Christ but He never promised a person exemption from the criminal punishment of the laws of the land. A pedophile can repent and be forgiven by God and yet still serve a prison sentence. The choice to forgive a criminal from the punishment of the earthly law rests solely with the victim and no one else. All the victim needs to do to grant forgiveness and mercy is to refuse to press charges, and that is completely appropriate if they want to do that. It is, however, completely in appropriate for the government to grant mercy and forgiveness, their duty is to adhere to and enforce the law as it is written. Government represents justice (not mercy) in this case and should take actions in accordance with the law.

Yes, my response was within the context of the OP where they stated, "If it turned out that a politician had committed pedophilia, if he came out and confessed, would we forgive him?" Accountability to the law is not negated by confession. That said, the law takes into count whether a person came forward repentant or if they were caught in the act unrepentant. Punishment is coming down, but it may not be as much as an unrepentant predator intent on continuing to harm others.

A man who was once my first counselor in Elders quorum molested a little girl he home taught, had child porn, and was in prison 8 years ago for molestation but none of us knew, he wasn't even on the offender's registry. He could have molested my kids but thank God that didn't happen. Do I love the man? Yes. Do I forgive what he did? I forgive because we must. Should he be in jail? Yes. He was caught in the act and since he's done this before, I doubt he has any intention of stopping. He has not earned the trust of the public to be allowed to be free in society.

[Sirocco]

Personally I feel pedophiles should be like destroyed, because they are awful, good for nothing people, who prey on the most vulnerable members of our society.

[larsenb]

If it turned out that a politician had committed pedophilia, if he came out and confessed, would we forgive him? Knowing that if he felt like he couldn't be forgiven he would never confess, and therefore be blackmailed into hurting the country in exchange for freedom?

We need to make it safe for good guys caught up in the satanic system to confess their sins and be forgiven so they cannot be blackmailed. If that doesn't happen then we will never find politicians willing to do the right thing because they have all been turned to the dark side, and now it is a matter of turning them back to the light. It won't happen unless we let them know that while we do not condone pedophilia, we do condone repentance and will forgive those who come forward with the truth so they can come forward no matter what they get blackmailed with.

Some of these blackmailable 'pedos' were entrapped in pedophilia acts for the very purpose of being subjected to blackmail. This is one of the main tools used by the more evil and powerful elites for controlling high-profile people including politicians and financial people, from accounts that I have read (Hawk's Cafe, etc.)

This class probably had no conscious predilection to commit such acts, but were purposefully introduced by slow degrees to such while inebriated. And one can imagine that they were horrified by what they had done after they sobered up; and would probably assiduously avoid this kind of thing in the future.

These individuals should be more amenable to repentance than those cultivating their own predilection.

The same sources indicate that elites will try to control 'orphanages' and similar operations for the very purpose of supplying victims to use in this kind of entrapment.

[Juliet]

A person can and is forgiven for their sins in the sight of God and Jesus Christ but He never promised a person exemption from the criminal punishment of the laws of the land. A pedophile can repent and be forgiven by God and yet still serve a prison sentence. The choice to forgive a criminal from the punishment of the earthly law rests solely with the victim and no one else. All the victim needs to do to grant forgiveness and mercy is to refuse to press charges, and that is completely appropriate if they want to do that. It is, however, completely in appropriate for the government to grant mercy and forgiveness, their duty is to adhere to and enforce the law as it is written. Government represents justice (not mercy) in this case and should take actions in accordance with the law.

Yes, my response was within the context of the OP where they stated, "If it turned out that a politician had committed pedophilia, if he came out and confessed, would we forgive him?" Accountability to the law is not negated by confession. That said, the law takes into count whether a person came forward repentant or if they were caught in the act unrepentant. Punishment is coming down, but it may not be as much as an unrepentant predator intent on continuing to harm others.

A man who was once my first counselor in Elders quorum molested a little girl he home taught, had child porn, and was in prison 8 years ago for molestation but none of us knew, he wasn't even on the offender's registry. He could have molested my kids but thank God that didn't happen. Do I love the man? Yes. Do I forgive what he did? I forgive because we must. Should he be in jail? Yes. He was caught in the act and since he's done this before, I doubt he has any intention of stopping. He has not earned the trust of the public to be allowed to be free in society.

If we truly knew how many pedos live among us we would never let our kids out of sight and that is the absolute truth. Even if your kids are abused, they won't tell you because they know there is nothing you can do to stop it. It goes soooo deep. We are afraid to let our kids ride around the block but think nothing of sending them away most every day on a bus thinking they will be safe. Where is the logic in that? I had friends that were abused in school that couldn't tell their parents. Wake up parents please please please.

[Juliet]

If it turned out that a politician had committed pedophilia, if he came out and confessed, would we forgive him? Knowing that if he felt like he couldn't be forgiven he would never confess, and therefore be blackmailed into hurting the country in exchange for freedom?

We need to make it safe for good guys caught up in the satanic system to confess their sins and be forgiven so they cannot be blackmailed. If that doesn't happen then we will never find politicians willing to do the right thing because they have all been turned to the dark side, and now it is a matter of turning them back to the light. It won't happen unless we let them know that while we do not condone pedophilia, we do condone repentance and will forgive those who come forward with the truth so they can come forward no matter what they get blackmailed with.

Some of these blackmailable 'pedos' were entrapped in pedophilia acts for the very purpose of being subjected to blackmail. This is one of the main tools used by the more evil and powerful elites for controlling high-profile people including politicians and financial people, from accounts that I have read (Hawk's Cafe, etc.)

This class probably had no conscious predilection to commit such acts, but were purposefully introduced by slow degrees to such while inebriated. And one can imagine that they were horrified by what they had done after they sobered up; and would probably assiduously avoid this kind of thing in the future.

These individuals should be more amenable to repentance than those cultivating their own predilection.

The same sources indicate that elites will try to control 'orphanages' and similar operations for the very purpose of supplying victims to use in this kind of entrapment.

Yes you are absolutely right and inebriated doesn't come close. There is no drug the government can't use to compromise those they are trying to control. Many politicians have committed pedophilia under hypnosis. It is so sad because they spend the rest of their lives controlled by the dark side. I wish killing all the bad guys worked, but it won't. We have to expose the truth and let people get free.

In my memories of satanic ritual abuse, there are underground tunnels where huge buildings exist. You are brought into their fully staffed and operational torture centers on a tram. I am not even sure the staff are fully human. Many are working under hypnosis. I really want to get some tech to hunt for underground tunnels. One was in a forest and you rode a boxcar in, others were under water entrances if my broken up flashbacks are correct. Without evidence, I am just a crazy girl trying to get attention.

I do believe Satanists can access schools and churches with these underground tunnels.

[gardener4life]

You know I got some interesting scriptures for you to think about.

Alma 10: 27 And now behold, I say unto you, that the foundation of the destruction of this people is beginning to be laid by the unrighteousness of your lawyers and your judges. (Laws were set to cement the growth of evil and prevent the growth of that which was good.)
3 Nephi 6:21 Now there were many of the people who were exceedingly angry because of those who testified of these things; and those who were angry were chiefly the chief judges, and they who had been high priests and lawyers; yea, all those who were lawyers were angry with those who testified of these things. (The wicked hate for the truth to be shown because it condemns their bad choices and lives. They also united against good.)
Helaman 13:14 But behold, it is for the righteous’ sake that it is spared. But behold, the time cometh, saith the Lord, that when ye shall cast out the righteous from among you, then shall ye be ripe for destruction; yea, wo be unto this great city, because of the wickedness and abominations which are in her (The wicked lawyers, judges, and politicians were the cause of their cancers to grow out of control. Before we protect them they have to be humbled. And if they aren't willing to confess their sins then they aren't repentant (also a scripture), and even as we speak our society casts out the poor in several ways. In the days of the Nephites, judge was synonymous both with judge and ruler or politician.)
2 Nephi 26:10 And when these things have passed away a speedy destruction cometh unto my people; for, notwithstanding the pains of my soul, I have seen it; wherefore, I know that it shall come to pass; and they sell themselves for naught; for, for the reward of their pride and their foolishness they shall reap destruction; for because they yield unto the devil and choose works of darkness rather than light, therefore they must go down to hell. (In the scriptures foolishness = loving evil more than loving God.)

Are we casting out the poor from among us?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1yCTL5dJro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF4w0QKtf0I

[oneClimbs]

Are we casting out the poor from among us?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1yCTL5dJro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF4w0QKtf0I

The second video is addressing people leaving California. Here's the deal, property values go up when you have tons of people wanting to occupy the same space. Everyone cannot occupy the same space so the price goes up as does demand. California is massivly overcrowed so leaving is probably the best thing to do. If you are making 40k per year, why on earth would you stay in California to begin with? Leave and go somewhere you can afford, you have literally the rest of the North American continent. Go somewhere where housing is cheap and you can get a decent job and work your way up by providing value to someone else, or start your own company.

I realize that someone might respond to my comment by saying, "Oh sure, easier said than done buddy! You can't just tell people to go out and work hard and that fixes everything."

My dad made about 31k per year mowing lawns. I started working with him when I was 11. Every summer, all summer, on every break, guess what I was doing? To make extra money we built docks and decks. Eventually, my dad started his own deck company and moved away from mowing lawns. I went on a mission with financial help from my grandparents and a pledge from my dad to help pay since I worked with him for free for a decade.

When I came back I had to start from square one. I built decks for a while, then got a part-time job designing ads for a phone book, very simple text-based ads, nothing fancy and mostly grunt work. I then partnered with a guy and we started a direct mail company, just me and him, he funded everything and I provided all the design skills. It barely made money. Our main client's company failed because of corruption and we lost all our clients.

We split up and I went back to construction to pay the bills. The year I got married I made about $1600. I sold vacuums door to door for two weeks, and remember sitting in my apartment staring at a computer screen wondering how I was going to survive. One Friday, my wife and I went on a date and we had $1.97 and we needed three pennies to see a dollar movie. So we went to gas station parking lots and a hospital parking lot before we found those three pennies and went to see our movie.

Then, I had an idea to put some faces that I illustrated on a stock photography site. There were only 8 of them but I got "artist of the week" and made the front page of the site! The next day I started getting requests for custom illustration work from Australia, Canada, Qatar, England, and Las Vegas! I started working hard and the money came rolling in. Eventually, my Las Vegas client was about 40% of my work. They eventually offered me a job as their art director and I worked remotely for another year and a half until they offered me a raise and equity in a new startup to move out there. So I did and for 9 years with lots of ups and downs, we had a great life and a nice career.

I still work with the same group but moved back to Texas to be with family. Today, I have had amazing opportunities and even spoke at Rootstech recently. We are doing great and I could never have envisioned where I would be back when I was picking up beer bottles and dead possums in ditches as a teen or when I was scouring parking lots for pennies so we could see a dollar movie as a young married couple.

I'm not that old either, I served my mission from 1999 to 2001 and was married in 2003. HARD WORK gets it done, to sow you must reap. Vegas was an expensive place to live in some respects, but we rented a nice place in a nice neighborhood and food was cheaper than here in Texas.

My point is that we changed our physical circumstances and worked our tails off to get where we are today. I wasn't lucky either because nobody came along and gave me anything. I had no rich benefactors and every opportunity was one that I took and worked hard at. I taught myself everything I know and I'm not a genius. I went to an overcrowded highschool and didn't graduate with any kind of honors and maybe a "B" level GPA.

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't make it happen. No opinions can match the power of sheer human will and hard work. You need to provide real value to the world, you need to teach yourself skills or find a way to get them. Start at the bottom and work your way up. There are no shortcuts.

[mes5464]

My story is similar to your's 5tev3.

[Juliet]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sEqWlJbEX4

In this video, incarcerated child molesters explain how easy it was to fool society.