Area 51 employee, page 1

That earlier precursor was Freemasonry. Just a few quotes from 33d degree Freemasons below:

Manly P. Hall; The Lost Keys of Freemasonry; Page 67:
The true brother of the Craft ... has a duty and that duty is to fit into the plans of another. He must be ready at any hour of the day or night to drop his own ideals at the call of the Builder. The work must be done and he has dedicated his life to the service of those who know the bonds of neither time nor space.

Manly P. Hall; What the Ancient Wisdom expects of its Disciples; Page 23-24:
In the remote past the gods walked with men and while the instructors from the invisible planes of Nature were still laboring with the infant humanity of this planet, they chose from among the sons of men the wisest and the truest. These they labored with, preparing them to carry on the work of the gods after the spiritual hierarchies themselves had withdrawn into the invisible worlds. With these specially ordained and illumined sons they left the keys of their great wisdom, which was the knowledge of good and evil. ... Overshadowed by the divine prerogative, these illumined ones, founded what we now know as the Ancient Mysteries..... Generation after generation was illumined by the wisdom secreted in these sacred repositories.

Foster Bailey; The Spirit of Masonry; Page 140:
Masonry is of divine origin and was created for the purpose of training a group of members of the human family who would be capable of hastening the triumph of "God's Plan for man"....
These spiritual ancient mysteries were brought to our Great White Lodge, known to non-Masons as the Hierarchy, from the Great White Lodge on Sirius. They veil the secret of man's origin and destiny, and are symbolically expressed in the rituals of the Masonic
degrees.

Manly P. Hall; What the Ancient Wisdom expects of its Disciples; Pages 21-22:
In the very early period of human differentiation, man was incapable of self-government, but was ruled by those appointed by Nature to preserve him and unfold him to the point when he would be capable of taking care of himself. We are told that when our solar system began its labors, spirits of wise beings from other solar systems came to us and taught us the ways of wisdom that we might have that birthright of knowledge which God gives to all His creations. It was these minds which are said to have founded the Mystery Schools of the Ancient Wisdom, for this Wisdom was the knowledge of the will of Nature for Her children.

Foster Bailey; Things To Come; Page 121:
The whole Hierarchy and the Christ are approaching physical activity and many Masters are
already using astral bodies who did not do so only a few years ago. The understanding of what is involved is therefore increasingly urgent....
As the Hierarchy and the Christ approach the physical plane, we shall all have to get more accustomed to sensing them, most particularly those overshadowed.