Toaster Tales

"We seriously need to invest in a toaster," my roommate yawned dispiritedly as she stooped over, clutching her bathrobe around her, watching her bread toast through the oven window.

"HA!" I shouted as I jabbed a spatula into her side, rendering her considerably more awake. "We should invest in some rat poison! And we could sprinkle it over the counters at night just for fun!"

OK, not really. But when you're worried about the slightest, microscopic contamination from your makeup and last year's rolling pin, the introduction of a hulking, seething mass of malice oozing poisonous crumbs all over your counter and into the cupboards is somehow not met with shouts of joy.

How can we contain the beast when our roommates, significant others, family, assassins-in-disguise have brought it into the household?

Step One: Put it on its own counter.
Step Two: Nightly, build a wall of canned goods around it.
Step Three: Construct a scare-toaster (an upside down broom will do; toasters aren't too smart) to keep it from oozing contaminants when you're not in the kitchen watching it.
Step Four: Turn the knobs all the time (use gloves!). If you're lucky, your roommates/significant others/would-be-assassins will become so disgusted with its inconsistent performance that they will allow you to throw it out... the window.


.

Elder Ballard, Mothers and Daughters

A few short excerpts:

Sisters, we, your brethren, cannot do what you were divinely designated to do from before the foundation of the world. We may try, but we cannot ever hope to replicate your unique gifts. There is nothing in this world as personal, as nurturing, or as life changing as the influence of a righteous woman.
...
Immodest, immoral, intemperate women jam the airwaves, monopolize magazines, and slink across movie screens—all while being celebrated by the world.
...
Popular culture today often makes women look silly, inconsequential, mindless, and powerless. It objectifies them and disrespects them and then suggests that they are able to leave their mark on mankind only by seduction—easily the most pervasively dangerous message the adversary sends to women about themselves.
...
In recent years there has been a rash of articles, books, and films written about women and girls who gossip and who are “mean.” Satan is always attempting to undermine the most precious element of a woman’s divine nature—the nature to nurture.
...
For example, they need to understand that when they wear clothing that is too tight, too short, or too low cut, they not only can send the wrong message to young men with whom they associate, but they also perpetuate in their own minds the fallacy that a woman’s value is dependent solely upon her sensual appeal. This never has been nor will it ever be within the righteous definition of a faithful daughter of God. They need to hear this—clearly and repeatedly—from your lips, and they need to see it modeled correctly and consistently in your own personal standards of dress, grooming, and modest living.
...
I conclude my counsel with this prophetic summary from President Joseph F. Smith: “Our [family] associations are not exclusively intended for this life, for time, as we distinguish it from eternity. We live for time and for eternity. We form associations and relations for time and all eternity. … Who are there besides the Latter-day Saints who contemplate the thought that beyond the grave we will continue in the family organization? the father, the mother, the children recognizing each other … ? this family organization being a unit in the great and perfect organization of God’s work, and all destined to continue throughout time and eternity?” (Teachings: Joseph F. Smith, 385, 386).