Writings from the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Codices show that for two centuries before and after Jesus Christ, certain religious groups practiced rituals that included anointing patrons and the receiving of celestial robes. Teaching about the use of secret names and tokens took place along with passing through the temple veil into the presence of God. Revelations of the secrets of creation and the exaltation and deification of individuals were presented. Ascension into various levels of heaven representing different degrees of glory was a part of the ceremony. The need for moral purity was taught, and Eternal Marriages were performed.
go to: http://NewTestamentTempleRitual.blogspot.com for a complete discussion
The Church of Jesus Christ (LDS) is the only church today which restored these Christian Temple Rituals. In the words of . Yale University literary scholar Harold Bloom, who wrote The American Religion, "I can only attribute to his (Joseph Smith's) genius or daemons his uncanny recovery of elements in ancient Jewish theurgy [i]that had ceased to be available either to Judaism or to Christianity, and that had survived only in esoteric traditions unlikely to have touched Smith directly."
[i] “The working of divine agency in human affairs”
