Life here in mortality has a generous number of challenges for every one of us, and frequently we find ourselves longing for some of the peacefulness and safety of heaven. The Savior expressed not only the wish of his own heart but also that of every one of his disciples when he prayed to his Father, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Until we can be safely home in heaven, with God and with each other, surely there is nothing higher for which we could hope than that his will and way and divine influence would be fully felt here on earth. Such a pure and strong society will probably never be possible until Christ’s millennial reign as King of kings and Lord of lords—but that is no excuse not to try to make his “kingdom come” sooner wherever that may be possible. And although heavenly circumstances may not come broadly and generally until that second advent, there are profound ways in which they can come to us personally, to our families, and to clusters of believers who live the gospel in their hearts and homes and neighborhoods. Surely the key to any success in time or eternity is through obedience to the Son of God and his teachings, even as he was totally obedient to the will of his Father “in all things.”

This book, a collection of some of our talks and essays, is devoted to those aspects of life near at hand in which we have the opportunity to make God’s will our will and his ways our ways. It is devoted to the ideal of making life here “on earth” as much as possible as it is “in heaven.”