Did Jesus And His Followers Practice The Mormon Temple Ritual

Clearly, there is more priesthood that is discussed in the Bible other than the Levitical or Aaronic Priesthood. Melchizedek held a priesthood. In fact he held THE Priesthood. The Levitial priesthood was a lesser portion and part of the law of Moses. The Bible is also clear that the Levitical priesthood was to continue throughout the generations.

If our critics say there is no functioning Levitical priesthood today then they make the Bible a liar. God forbid.

It is true that most Levitical or Aaronic Priesthood holders today are not Levites. That’s OK because just like Jesus did away with dietary restrictions of the Law, he also did away with the lineage restrictions of the Law regarding the Levitical priesthood. Hence, boys and men today can and do function with God’s authority in the Aaronic priesthood.

Just as Paul says that Law of Moses was a schoolmaster to prepare us for Christ, so the Aaronic Priesthood of today prepares boys and men to receive the full authority of the Priesthood and we call that The Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God, or the Melchizedek since he was such a great high priest. We are a nation of priests in The Church of Jesus Christ and we are a royal priesthood.

There is more to it, but that gives an overview and refutes those who see things from only a one-dimensional perspective.

Was the Endowment given or practiced in the New Testament? Yes. There are veiled references to it in the New Testament. For example what happened on the Mount of Transfiguration? Why did the apostles want to build three “tabernacles” or temples right after the experience?

Why are there things sacred (secret?) that are referenced in the Bible that are not to be written? What is the purpose of the New Name on the white stone? Why are we encircled in the arms of His love (figurative, literal or both)? Why are the righteous dressed in white? And there are ancient texts that describe some of the hidden parts of the Gospels.

So, why doesn’t the Bible say more about the Endowment? Well, that issue is not important as the Bible does not contain all truth. It is not sufficient nor complete. The Bible says it, itself, is neither and as a Bible-believing Christian, I believe the Bible.

Most, but not all, of the information about the endowment comes from revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith. Note, is is not the form of the endowment that is important, it is the presentation of the truths of the endowment, the covenants, and the blessings that are important.

When one has experienced the Endowment, then passages in the Bible make more sense. While we still see through a glass darkly, it is not quite as dark after the Temple experience.

Yes, The Church of Jesus Christ of the former days did practice the endowment and yes, it was similar to the endowment of today.

Disclaimer:

This answer represents the personal beliefs and understanding of a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who may currently have or have had at some point a minor unpaid leadership role in said Church. Unless I have directly quoted an authoritative source, my answers do NOT in any way represent a definitive statement of the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; my answers represent ONLY my personal opinions.

Authoritative sources include the words of Jesus and scripture. Any other links are merely opinions of others that I cite as such. Authoritative sources regarding my Church are found here: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints