Everyone has advice
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Everyone has advice to give. I think it might be one of our favorite pastimes. We love it so much that devote entire sections in book stores to giving advice. We often call it self-help or non-fiction but we could just as well call it the ‘one persons opinion about…’ section or category.
Some people are brighter, smarter and more intelligent than others. Others have applied themselves to the study of a particular subject and have acquired great knowledge and insight.
But it should always be noted that no two individuals are identical, neither are marriages, families, careers or environments. So the advice and experience of others, though it can be shared and used, will never fit us the way it does the giver.
Unwise people who fail to listen and follow the wisdom and insights of people more experienced than them are destined for trouble and tribulation. But we must also remember that even the wisest among us cannot do the thinking and applying for us.
Advice should be like buying a wedding dress. Most people don’t make their own dress, but I don’t know anyone who hasn’t had their wedding dress altered to fit their body more perfectly for the big day.
We take what other people give us and then it is up to us to alter it in a way that fits our specific needs and situation. I think this principle is true in The Church of Jesus Christ. Plenty of well-intentioned individuals and leaders give advice for how to better follow Jesus Christ and live a good life.
But even when a prophet speaks, it is up to us to take the principle they teach and apply it to fit our specific situation. For example, leaders have stressed the importance of regular gospel study, temple attendance and ministering.
Rarely have I heard them give specific applications of the principle. That’s because prophets teach general principles, they don’t do the thinking or applying for us. That responsibility rests squarely on our shoulders.
So when I hear President Nelson stress the importance of regular temple attendance, I agree with him, and then I ask myself, what does regular temple attendance look like for me and my situation?
It looks a lot different now that we live in West Virginia than it did when we lived in Utah and Idaho. Regular for me is once per quarter, it used to be once each week. I am taking the principle and then altering and applying it.
I try to think this way whenever people give life advice, marriage advice, career advice, parenting advice and every other kind of advice. I listen, try to understand and then see how I can, or if I should, apply what has been shared in a way that is efficacious for my life.
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