A Light In the Darkness

This is a special EXTENDED episode of A Light in the Darkness! Carly is joined by Sissie Snow, Allison Smith, and Erika Dominguez for a powerful conversation featuring the perspectives of the birth mother, adoptive mother, and the adoptee. Sissie opens up about many challenges she has gone through in her life and the heart-wrenching yet prayerful decision she made to place her baby for adoption. S...

This is a special Father's Day Episode!  Viet Le shares the story of his dad, who was born and raised in Vietnam.  He talks about what life was like for him there, how he joined the military, and married his mom.  Viet tells Carly about his large family living in a war torn country, and how his dad got his family to safety in the US.  They later found a "host family" in Utah and settled here, wher...

June is PRIDE month for members of the LGBTQ+ community.  Many people choose to celebrate it differently, but the bottom line is that it is important to let people who may be struggling with their identity or orientation know that they are not alone, and to help others know the best way to show love and support to them.  Ben Schilaty has been helping in that space as a gay member of the Church of...

This week Carly talks with Noelle McBride about growing up in the Pacific Northwest, getting married at age 20 and later divorced after 17 years together, how she decided to "serve a mission" as a single mom while working 2 jobs and raising 3 boys, how she has learned to set boundaries and found forgiveness, and more!  Noelle also talks about her book entitled "Beauty For Ashes: Divorce and the La...

Join us for a special Mother's Day conversation!  In this episode Emily Cushing shares her about her own motherhood journey and advice, and talks about the difficulties of no longer having her mom here on the Earth with her.  She teaches us a few of the ways she has tried to remember and honor her in the midst of her grief.  Emily and Carly also talk about some really great and under-appreciated w...

On this episode Carly talks with Taylor Ricks Mele from the "To Cheer and To Bless" Instagram page.  She shares her story of how she felt prompted to be a Foster Parent, and ended up adopting a sweet little boy she named Zane.  She talks about how special he is, how much joy he brings to her family, and how he was diagnosed with Down Syndrome a week after he was born.  Taylor gives us a glimpse in...

Brigham and Monica Bird stop by the podcast to share the scary experience they have been going through for the past 2 1/2 years.  It all started just after Thanksgiving, when Brigham was trying to study for finals during his first semester away at college.  He wasn't getting much sleep and ended up relying a lot on massive amounts of caffeine to help him get everything done.  They later learned th...

In this episode Carly talks with Travis, Becky, and Averi Knudsen.  They share about Averi's journey with Cystic Fibrosis: the hard times, the blessings, the way has affected their family, and the miracles they have seen in her 19 years of living with CF.  Averi started an instagram account called Breathe With Averi where she shares her story, her inspiration, and information about Cystic Fibrosis...

Casey McFarland joins us on the podcast to talk about his own personal faith crisis.  He teaches us things we can do if we are experiencing one ourselves, have a family member who is facing something similar, or would like to show up better for those friends and neighbors who may be feeling the same way.  He gives us a lot of thought provoking insight in an episode I hope every Latter Day Saint wo...

Jenny Gunnell stops by the podcast to share her journey with infertility, adoption, living with stage 4 cancer, and losing her mom after a short 7 week cancer journey herself.  Jenny is someone who I have always looked up to.  She radiates the Light of our Savior.  You will be blessed to learn from her through this conversation. You can read more about Jenny's story, and find the most recent updat...

Bostyn Corrigan Moody stops by to share an AMAZING story of resilience and faith through some of the most difficult trials anyone has had to face.  She talks about how the murder of her dad and subsequent emotional abuse by her first step dad played a big part into her developing an eating disorder.  She is only 18 years old, but is wise beyond her years.  She teaches us how to help our teens if w...

We are so excited to be able to share this conversation with Todd Sylvester: Author, Speaker, and Mental Fitness Coach.  Todd shares his story of becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol at a VERY young age, the damage it did to his life, and the miraculous way he found healing and light.  Todd now uses his own experience to help others through their own struggles. You can find more information abou...

Mindi Barker is the wife of a “ridiculously good looking man” and mother of 6 amazing children and one incredible son in law. She was raised in Sandy, Utah by the most caring parents, who instilled in her a love of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She has a zest for life that is contagious, and she loves to make people laugh. She always looks for the bright side in everything she does and you will rare...

Moroni 7:35-37 "Has the Day of Miracles Ceased?"  Carly Robison shares the literal miracle she has experienced the past couple of months, and encourages her listeners to look for miracles in their own lives. Podcast episode about Carly's sister can be found here. Podcast interview with Carly's therapist can be found here. More information about EMDR can be found here.

It’s been a long, long time since I’ve had a new podcast episode. There have been some very difficult, excruciatingly painful things going on in my life. I’m not able to talk about them at this time. But they have made it so I haven’t been able to do interviews and produce new episodes. I promise when I’m able I will be right back here, sharing inspiring stories with you.    But I have been prompt...

This week Carly talks about the power of gratitude in our lives and how it can actually help you when you are going through difficult times.  She shares her own experiences, quotes from talks she loves, and the thoughts of two of her friends.  Carly hopes that this episode can help you get through your own dark times, including as we all deal with many challenges due to COVID-19. Here are the link...

Mark Davis is a husband, dad, and awesome DJ.  In this episode he shares with us his experiences of growing up with a dad who had a severe form of Multiple Sclerosis, that left him physically and eventually even mentally impaired. As an adult his worst fear was realized when he was also diagnosed with MS.  Mark tells the lessons he had learned from his dad, the tender mercies and miracles that hav...

In this episode I talk to my friend Gina Hansen.  We talk about her life, family, and a miraculous experience that they all went through just about a year ago. Gina Gates Hansen was born in Richfield, Utah and grew up there until she was 12 and we moved to South Jordan, Ut. Gina grew up with 3 brothers and 3 sisters.  Gina tried school and different jobs after graduating high school, and her paren...

Heidi Swapp is a busy wife and mom to five amazing kids ranging from 13-23 years old. She’s the creative force behind her own brand of signature craft and memory-keeping products which can be found online and in craft stores throughout the world.  In 2015 Heidi and her family suffered a devastating loss as her 16 year old son Cory died by suicide. I have been amazed at her strength and resilience...

This is a bonus episode of my A Light In the Darkness Podcast.  It has been 12 long years since my younger sister Brooke Jarrett left this earthly life. This episode is airing on her Angelversary. I wanted to talk about my sister’s story for a few reasons.  First of all, she suffered through mental health challenges for a lot of her life and ended up dying by suicide. Since that time I have wanted...

In  this episode I talk to Zach Spafford about his pornography use, that started when he was just 8 years old and accidentally exposed to a magazine at a playground.  Zach tells us of his own experiences, but also shares insightful thoughts and tools he has learned along the way that can help us in many areas of our lives.  Zach is a veteran life coach with years of experience helping others impro...

Heidi was raised by wonderful parents, Dan & Patricia Potts in West Jordan, UT. She has 3 sisters, and they adopted her brother when she was about 15. Heidi went to Snow College after high school and met her husband, Jason Hamilton, who had just returned from his mission. They got married in the Salt Lake City Temple in May of 2000.  Heidi graduated from the University of Utah in 2002 with a degre...

Tiffany Jarrett grew up in Orem Utah as an active member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Her dad is a convert, and her mom has 7 kids in her family and is one of only 3 active members. Tiffany feels super lucky that they were able to stay active and give her that in her life. Although Tiffany did not attend college, she did put 2 husbands through so that should count for someth...

David Chatterton was born and raised in Murray, Utah, and is the 4th of 5 children. David is married to Lindsy Chatterton and together they have  3 children, Tate, Niya, and Zoey; with losses of baby Mack, Arie and Liam. Their family lives in South Jordan, Utah and enjoy the outdoors, yard work, managing their rental properties, and spending time together. David has worked for University of Utah H...

Nathan Ogden has taught thousands how to conquer their fears and move from paralysis to progress through eliminating excuses in their lives. He is a wheelchair athlete, co-creator of the non-profit Chair The Hope, and author of the book Unfrozen and co-authored Resilience and Leadership In Trying Times, both #1 Bestsellers. Nathan is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, trainer, an...