Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago

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What if poverty is not only a financial problem, but a spiritual one?

President Brian Ashton explains why intelligence is widely distributed, but opportunity is not. He shares how BYU–Pathway Worldwide combines faith, education, practical skills, and employment to help people build lasting self-reliance instead of depending on temporary handouts.

From students surviving on one meal a day to returned missionaries coming home with nowhere to live, this conversation reveals how poverty can limit far more than income. It can suppress hope, confidence, leadership, and divine potential.

President Ashton shares why lasting change requires more than money. It requires opportunity, spiritual identity, education, work, and the belief that every person can become more than their circumstances suggest.


0:00 Intro - Grace’s BYU Pathway experience
3:39 BYU Pathway goal & stories
10:19 Misunderstandings about the poor
15:30 Opportunities around the world?
23:28 Defining poverty & defending Pathway
28:40 Obstacles for students
36:28 Leadership, discipleship & impact
41:38 Reading scriptures
48:30 Grace’s inspiring story
53:11 D&C 88 & 93
58:14 How to help Pathway
1:03:47 Vision for BYU Pathway
1:07:55 Bro Ashton’s testimony