The Old Testament was the Savior’s
Bible, the one He read and cited during mortality. The Old Testament was 9and
still is) a magnificent, exceptional set of scriptural texts. It is singular
and unparalleled. Why? Because it is:
· “The first testament of Christ” (M. Russell Ballard, “The Miracle of the Holy Bible,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2007, 82).
· A
significant handbook on the Savior’s Atonement.
· The
foundational document designed to prepare the world for the Savior’s coming in
the flesh, when He would die for us.
· A
record that contains hundred of symbols that reveal Jesus Christ and His Atonement.
· A
record that presents scores of prophecies of Jesus Christ and His divine
mission.
In short, the Old Testament is a
scriptural work that reveals the Lord as the Savior, Redeemer, and great Atoner.
When Jesus Christ commanded, “Search the scriptures; . . . they are they which testify
of me” (John 5:39), He was referring to the Old Testament. (Donald W. Parry,
"The
Atonement of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament," Liahona [April
2022])