There are very rare cases such as "permanent facts", eg. She told us that the sun rises every morning.
However, almost all of the time we back-shift tenses. I've heard of the "don't shift tenses if it's still true" idea, but I just see that thinking lead to non-native phrases.
For example, it's natural to shift the tenses in sentences like these:
"What did you say your name was?"
"Henry! Your wife told me you were here!"
Honestly, I'd just listen and copy what you hear... no need to over-analyse the grammar.