The Promise of Unity

My Dear Brothers and Sisters of the St. Cloud Stake,

Since the start of the year, the topic of unity with Christ has been on my mind. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the ultimate expression of unity—at-one-ment—the divine work that reconciles what has been separated. Through the Resurrection, the separation of spirit and body caused by death will be overcome for all. This restoration is a universal gift that unites the entire human family in the shared inheritance of immortality. As taught in the Book of Mormon, “The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form” (Alma 11:43).

The Atonement also brings spiritual unity and acts as a call for unity among the living. Through Christ’s suffering in Gethsemane and on the cross, we are offered forgiveness and healing so that we may become one with God and with one another. This is the unity Christ prayed for when He asked that we might all be one (John 17:21). As we more intentionally remember Him, I hope we will see the Atonement as a divine work that heals divisions, restores families, and draws us together in faith. I know that this is His gospel, and that only through Jesus Christ can we truly be united. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Curtis Kopotic

High Councilor