LDS faith, grief, unanswered prayers, trusting God, Jesus Christ, healing, covenants, temple worship, and finding hope when life doesn’t go as planned — this episode explores what happens when faithful disciples face real heartbreak.
She was raised between worlds — born into a family that escaped Iran, with generations of faithful women who fasted for her baptism. Faith was always part of her story. But so was loss. After years of searching for peace, love, and belonging, life took turns she never expected, leaving her asking questions many believers silently carry: Why didn’t God fix this? And how do I trust Him now?
In this deeply honest episode of the Anchored Podcast, you’ll hear a story that reads like the pages of a novel — seasons of hope, devastating grief, spiritual wrestling, and ultimately discovering the Savior in a way she never had before. Through temple worship, quiet promptings, and unexpected new beginnings, she learned that sometimes God doesn’t remove the pain… but He does walk with us through it.
This conversation is for anyone who has prayed for a miracle and wondered why heaven felt silent — and for anyone trying to hold on to faith when life doesn’t unfold the way they thought it would.
🎧 Listen now and discover what God may be doing when He doesn’t fix it.
Show Notes:
The book can be purchased on her website, careshmeh.com/book, https://amzn.to/3X4ZTpN Barnes and Noble, Kobo, IngramSparks, Goodreads, Google Books, and Booktopia.
0:02 We Can See Jesus Christ’s Face When We Let Him In
0:38 Meet Careshmeh French Dean LDS Convert From Iran Story
1:54 Family Fasts and Prayers to Help Her Get Baptized LDS
3:01 How the Gospel Held Me Together Through Trauma
4:27 Temple Promptings, Divorce, and Trusting God’s Timing
7:08 Acute Myeloid Leukemia Diagnosis and the Faith to Be Healed
8:46 Miracles in the New Testament and Believing for Healing
10:01 Knowing Heavenly Father but Not Yet Knowing Jesus Personally
10:48 Hospital Advocacy and Why No One Should Go Alone
12:31 The Prompting to “Let Him Go” and the Crisis of Faith
14:03 Grief, Loneliness, and Feeling Abandoned by People
15:15 In-Laws Betrayal and the Trauma That Compounded Grief
19:15 God Sends People to Strengthen You When Others Fall Away
20:49 Anger at God, Honest Prayer, and Spiritual Warfare
21:39 I Met the Savior: Christ’s Empathy and Comfort in Grief
23:10 When Grief Makes You Want to Quit Living
23:26 May 29, 2024: Pie With Daniel and the First Breath Again
26:13 “I’ve Loved You for Seven Years” and Recognizing God’s Hand
27:03 June 8, 2024: Remarried and Seeing God’s Miracle Timing
28:13 How to Come to Know Jesus Christ Day by Day
29:05 Temple Worship: The First Time I Heard the Savior’s Voice
30:28 Loved Ones Beyond the Veil and Spiritual Help in Grief
32:11 Grief vs Depression and Why That Difference Matters
32:43 EMDR Therapy and Seeing the Savior in Sacred Healing
34:08 Falling Before Christ and Realizing We Can All Know Him
35:26 Breathwork Experience: “He’s Always With Me”
36:27 Do We All Need Personal Experiences With Jesus Christ?
37:32 Simple Discipleship: Scriptures, Prayer, Church, Temple, Family
39:31 Turn Off the Noise to Hear God and Feel the Spirit
41:13 Why the Temple Brings Quiet, Revelation, and Comfort
43:08 Why God Helped Through the Savior in That Season
45:48 Living Differently After Loss: Love More Fiercely and Surrender
48:03 Learning to Trust Heavenly Father Again After Devastation
51:12 Why I Stay LDS: “Stay in the Boat” Through the Storm
55:24 Book Plug: Made for Me by Careshmeh French Dean