Over 1000 Attend Church's First Asia Area Education Fair 
Gereja Mengadakan Pameran Pendidikan Pertama di Kawasan Asia

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“This is the Church of God. And when you come to this kind of fair, you will always receive good things from them because they work for God,” expressed Kittaporn Kitsawat, who serves in the Bangkok West Stake Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He was speaking about the Church’s first Asia Area Education Fair series held from October 17, 2025 at seven locations in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. With over 1,000 people in attendance, the fair's purpose was to raise awareness about the education and self-reliance resources and opportunities provided by the Church especially for youth, young single adult and working adult members looking to increase their self-reliance.

Participants underwent a four-hour event that covered the role of education in God’s plan for His children, used games to engage audiences, utilized breakout sessions to facilitate group learning, and booths for a personalized experience. Brigham Young University-Hawaii (BYU-H), BYU-Pathway Worldwide (BYU-PW), and the Church’s Seminaries and Institute (S&I) and Welfare and Self-Reliance (WSR) departments featured as presenters.

Together, these activities framed an eagle-eye view of a plan to lift people’s lives both spiritually and temporally to meet their divine potential.

Education for Generational Change

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“I remember when President Nelson came to Cambodia, he asked Cambodian people to do two things: go to the temple and get a good education,” recalled Veasna Neang, former Phnom Penh Cambodia mission president.

As one of the first four Cambodians to study at the Church university in Hawaii, President Neang had already taken the call to education to heart as a young man of 20 and found the experience “transformed my life and transformed me to become a better person.” He was educated not only in temporal knowledge but also spiritually to understand how the Church functions to bless members’ lives holistically.

He expressed his belief that education could change “the whole generation of Cambodia from poverty to a better life” and help Cambodians “to overcome all the dark history of Cambodia”, when repeated wars suppressed education and the Khmer Rouge regime deliberately executed the educated.

“Now I see the Lord’s hands because He cannot stop war but He can give education to people so that education can stop war,” President Neang said. “I believe with all my heart that it’s not just important, but necessary to have education in Cambodia.”

Phnom Penh Cambodia East District President Tay Sokha Phirum did not have the opportunity to study at BYU-H himself, but his long-awaited dream of sending his children there is coming true as they prepare themselves.

“I’m also excited for the next generation,” he shared. “I want all the parents to prepare their children that can obtain higher education to grow and change Cambodia because we have a temple here, we need them – the rising generation is important for the Church.”

Young members like returned missionary Pha Doungchai from the Phnom Penh Cambodia North Stake, who has a personal goal to attend BYU-H, embody President Tay’s hopes for the Church’s future in the country.

“I want to graduate from my college over there and after I graduate, I want to come back, to bring all the best I can from Hawaii to come here to help my community in Cambodia,” he said.

“When we build up something that’s good in this world, especially when we bring what we have about education to help and serve other people, it will make the place we want to build as the glory of God.”

Education that Opens Possibilities

Supavadee Kasinsri was moved to tears discovering programs like BYU-PW with her teenaged daughter. “This isn’t only for the students. Parents like me can also join,” she said after attending the fair in Bangkok from its North Stake. “This makes me emotional. To study alongside her, I want to keep having times like this.”

There are no age limits to signing up with BYU-PW and minors can be considered for enrolment with parental consent. Not only could the parent-child pair choose from an array of highly practical fields of study to pursue certifications that could be stacked into a bachelor’s degree, learning is also completely remote and very affordable due to its online nature.

For prospective students that still have financial difficulties, the Church has more resources to help. “When I told them that there’s a lot of funds available for them to gain more education, I feel that they have a sense of hope in their lives,” said Thailand Welfare and Self-Reliance manager Nopporn Janyasawangporn. “They have more purpose and they’re focusing on more education.”

The flexible nature of BYU-PW also enables students to take studies at their own pace. Supisara Choosut, from the same Stake, first took up the program a few years ago but had to drop out due to lack of time. However, she felt deeply inspired to take action after hearing the BYU-PW presentation at the fair and made sure to approach their booth to enquire about continuing her studies.

When they confirmed that she did not need to retake any courses and could simply resume from the point she had stopped, she exclaimed, “I’m going to do it tonight!”

Education as the Door to Self-Discovery

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For Kuala Lumpur District President Kelvin Kumar, the Education Fair could not come at a better time. “I think the timing is inspired because many of us are looking for opportunities to progress. With the resources the Church has to offer, we can become self-reliant, confident, and face the current challenges the world has today,” he said.

Jasmin Choy who attends the same district came to the fair to accompany her teenaged son and was touched learning about the various options available not just to them but others around the Asia Area. She personally felt strongly “like I want to tell everybody.”

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“It gives a lot of Malaysians an opportunity,” she expressed. “Not just Malaysians but Thai people, Cambodians -- an opportunity to get a really good education and allow them to really get a better job. They’re able to serve God with clarity; focus on what is really important in their lives.”

“I feel like the Church education -- doesn't matter the age, or the background, or if you're not academically gifted -- you still have a chance to study whatever you want or like,” he said.

Marvin, who now plans to enroll in BYU-H as well, reflected, “I think there's no limit to what you can do if God is by your side. It unlocks your potential.”

The last Education Fair event took place on November 1 in Surakarta, Indonesia and was presided over by Area Presidency member Elder David L. Buckner. Like with Kuala Lumpur, the event proceedings were broadcast online for members across the country to allow all who were interested to join in. These efforts brought the total number of participants for all seven fairs across Siem Reap and Phnom Penh in Cambodia, Bangkok and Chiangmai in Thailand, Sibu and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and Surakarta, Indonesia to 1019.