Situational Advice

I think that most advice, if not all advice, is situational. For example, honesty is generally the best policy, but there are certainly circumstances in which honesty could have devastating consequences, such as if an operator of the underground railroad is asked if they've seen or helped any escaped slaves. Being honest is usually a good idea, but there are times when it's not.

The same can be said of two pieces of contradictory advice that I've heard and read recently. At General Conference, I heard that it's important to look down the road, but on a Facebook post, I read the advice to "Focus on the step in front of you, not the whole staircase." So, which is the better advice? Naturally, since the long-term view came from a Conference talk, it would seen to have better credentials than some quote on Facebook, but the actual answer is that it depends. Some people focus too much on the present and should focus more on the future, and some people focus too much on the future and should focus more on the present. Whether a piece of advice is good or bad for any individual depends on the circumstances of the individual hearing the advice. Maybe I need to look further down the road, and maybe I need to focus on the next step. It just depends.

So, I would advise you to take all the advice you hear or read with a grain of salt, even this advice. There may be times when advice is truly universal and should be adopted by everyone, regardless of circumstances, but at all other times, I think that it's important to apply wisdom and the Spirit of Discernment in your evaluation of advice, even advice from prophets. Maybe it's good advice for you in this situation, and maybe it isn't. You'll have to evaluate that advice for yourself, no matter who or where it came from.