The poor and needy are those whose present needs (either temporary or long-term) are greater than they can satisfy by their own efforts. A person may become needy by losing a job, becoming ill, going through a divorce, losing possessions to an uninsured fire or accident, or in many other ways. Generally such needs are temporary and can be addressed with material aid, employment referrals, and other immediate assistance.

In contrast, poverty suggests long-term deprivation that can be reversed only by intensive education, rehabilitation, training, and therapy where needed. Such efforts often extend over time or may, in some measure, need to be lived with indefinitely. Such needs often erode dignity and undermine self-respect, leaving the person in need both emotionally and materially.

"The Lord doesn’t really need us to take care of the poor, but we need this experience, for it is only through our learning how to take care of each other that we develop within us the Christlike love and disposition necessary to qualify us to return to his presence" (Marion G . Romney, Ensign, Nov. 1981, 92).