Why the Church of Jesus Christ Needs the Old Testament

When we say something is old, the adjective often packs a pejorative punch. You wouldn't call someone "old" to their face. (Rude!) You're not going to eat that old cheese in your fridge. (Gross!) And you're unlikely to trust that old car on a cross-country road trip. (Dangerous!) As a new year begins, the weekly study for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints turns to one of our world's ancient texts: the Old Testament. I find it somewhat unfortunate that Melito of Sardis, a second-century Christian leader, first labeled his collection of Hebrew holy writ as "old." It does the scripture a disservice when paired with the New Testament. Old denotes dusty and useless attic junk, rusty metal, moldy bread, a glitchy computer. The Old Testament is not that kind of old. It is among those old things that, in Book of Mormon language, "retain their brightness" forever. Truth and deep ideas, it turns out, have a remarkably low mortality rate.