Mention of prayer circles in the Ensign-

• President N. Eldon Tanner, “The Administration of the Church.” Ensign, (Nov. 1979)
• President Kimball,”The Lord Expects His Saints to Follow the Commandments.” Ensign (May 1977): 4.
• Elder Holland (then BYU President) “President Thomas S. Monson: Man of Action, Man of Faith, Always ‘on the Lord’s Errand’” Ensign (Feb. 1986): 16.
• Stanley B. Kimball, “The Mormon Pioneer Trail, 1846–47,” Ensign, (Sept. 1979): 75.

John Tvedtnes, “Temple Prayer in Ancient Times.” TTE: 79-98.

• FARMS link.

Donald Parry, “Temple Worship and a Possible Reference to a Prayer Circle in Psalm 24.” BYU Studies 32:4 (1992): 57-62.

• Summary.
• Free pdf copy from BYU Studies.
• Parry proposes to revocalize a word in Psalm 24:6 to read “the circle of those who seek you” instead of “the generation of those who seek you.” Psalm 24 is a Temple-related hymn. See the articles here.

“Latter-day Saint Prayer Circles.” D. Michael Quinn. BYUS 19:1 (1978): 79-105.

• Summary.
• Free pdf copy from BYU Studies.

Hugh Nibley, “The Early Christian Prayer Circle.”  MEC, 45-99.

• FARMS transcript, text only. Gospelink (subscription required) Originally appeared in BYUS 19: 1 (1978): 41–78.

• See also Todd Compton’s comments towards the bottom of his review here.

George S. Tate, “Prayer Circle.” – EM: 1120-21.

• Gospelink (subscription required)

Lisle Brown, “Begotten Sons and Daughters unto God: The Importance of Names and Naming in the Gospel” unpublished paper no longer available.

Truman Madsen, “‘Putting on the Names’: A Jewish-Christian Legacy.” – BSAF 1:458-482.

• FARMS transcript, text only. Gospelink (subscription required)

Bruce H. Porter and Stephen D. Ricks, “Names in Antiquity: Old, New, and Hidden.” – BSAF 1:501-522.

• Gospelink (subscription required)

“Covenant”- LDS Bible Dictionary

“What is a covenant?” from my Temple Preparation FAQ

• Discusses covenants in the scriptures and the rituals for making them, and draws comparisons to the temple ordinances.

Jeff Lindsay on LDS covenants, from his excellent website.

Victor Ludlow, “Covenant Teachings of the Scriptures.” -A BYU devotional given October 13, 1998.

• A similar talk “Covenants- Our Bond with the Divine” was given March 9, 2004 at BYUI, in .pdf format.

Wouter Van Beek,“Covenants.”  EM: 331-33

• Gospelink (subscription required)

David Rolph Seely, “The Raised Hand of God as an Oath Gesture.” In A.B. Beck, A.H. Bartelt, P.R. Raabe , & C.A. Franke, Fortunate the Eyes that See: Essays in Honor of David Noel Freedman (Grand Rapids, MI, 1995): 411-421.

• Seely discusses biblical passages in which one swears an oath by raising the right hand.

Mark J. Morrise,  “Simile Curses in the Ancient Near East, Old Testament, and Book of Mormon” JBMS 2:1 (Spring 1993): 124-138  Also in .pdf format.

• Discusses curses as an inherent part of ancient covenant formulae.
• Gospelink (subscription required)

James Carroll and Elizabeth Siler, “Let My Prayer be Set Before Thee: The Burning of Incense in the Temple Cult of Ancient Israel.”  Studia Antiqua: The Journal of the Student Society for Ancient Studies Vol. 2, Num. 2 (Fall 2002):17-32.

Matthew J. Grey, “Becoming as a Little Child: Elements of Ritual Rebirth in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity.” Studia Antiqua: The Journal of the Student Society for Ancient Studies Vol. 1 Num. 1, Fall 2001. 63-85.

• Discusses washing, anointing, clothing, and naming as early Christian and Jewish rituals of rebirth.
• Available soon from their website.

Bruce Porter, “Altar”  EM: 36-37.

• Gospelink (subscription required)

Allen Claire Rozsa, “Temple Ordinances.” EM: 1444-45

 
• Gospelink (subscription required)

Donald W. Parry, “Washings and Anointings.” EM: 1551

• Gospelink (subscription required)

Donald W. Parry, “Ritual Anointing with Olive Oil in Ancient Israelite Religion”  in The Allegory of the Olive Tree: The Olive, the Bible, and Jacob 5. Stephen D. Ricks, and John Welch, eds. (SLC: Deseret Book/FARMS, 1994): 262-290.

• Gospelink (subscription required)

John Tvedtnes, “Olive Oil: Symbol of the Holy Ghost.”   in The Allegory of the Olive Tree: The Olive, the Bible, and Jacob 5. Stephen D. Ricks, and John Welch, eds. (SLC: Deseret Book/FARMS, 1994): 427-459.

• Gospelink (subscription required)

Stephen Ricks and John J. Sroka, “King, Coronation, and Temple: Enthronement Ceremonies in History.” TAW, 236-271.

• Gospelink (subscription required)

Donald W. Parry, “Three Temple Entrance Hymns.” In Revelation, Reason, and Faith: Essays in Honor of Truman G. Madsen. Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, and Stephen D. Ricks eds. (Provo, UT: FARMS, 2002):??.

• Discusses Psalm 15, 24, and Isaiah 33 which function as an Israelite “Temple recommend” – interviews and moral requirements to enter the Israelite temple compound.

Truman Madsen, “The Temple and the Atonement.”  TAW, 63-80.

• FARMS transcript Gospelink (subscription required)

“The Atonement of Jesus Christ.” –Hugh Nibley. Ensign, July-October 1990. Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4.

• This article is an edited version of a talk that was written at the request of several Apostles.
• Reprinted in AZ, 554-608. Gospelink (subscription required)

Lynn and Hope Hilton, “The Hand as a Cup in Ancient Temple Worship.” Presentation made at BYU symposium.

• Also includes Anchor Bible Dictionary entry on “Incense Dish” as supporting information.
• pdf copy
• See also the commentary on Revelation 8:3-4 under Scriptural References

Todd Compton, “The Handclasp and Embrace as Tokens of Recognition.”  BSAF 1:611-643.

• Gospelink (subscription required)
• See here for an excerpt.

Stephen Ricks, “Oaths and Oath Taking in the Old Testament.” TTE: 43-54.

• Discusses oaths in the Hebrew bible, associated ritual gestures, and potential penalties for not carrying out the oath.
• FARMS link (subscribtion required)

Matthew Brown, “Girded about with a Lambskin.” JBMS 6:2 (1997): 124-151.

• “The publication of the Book of Mormon brought forward the first of many comparisons between the restorational work of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his surrounding environment, including Freemasonry. One point of comparison has been the lambskin apparel mentioned in 3 Nephi 4:7. I will suggest a possible connection between this item of apparel and ritual clothing that was worn in ancient Israel, Egypt, and Mesoamerica. I will also suggest a possible reason for the use of this item of clothing among the secret combinations in the Book of Mormon. Finally, I will discuss the lambskin apron used in Freemasonic ritual.”
• Web version with images. PDF version without images.

Michael Fordham, “Did the Lord Reject the Fig Leaf Worn by Adam and Eve?”  FAIR paper

Evelyn T. Marshall, “Garments.”  EM: 534-535.

• Gospelink (subscription required)

Hugh Nibley, “Sacred Vestments.”  TAC: 91-138.

• Nibley discusses priestly clothing in the Bible and ealry Christianity. Drawings.
• Gospelink (subscription required)

E. Jan Wilson, “Inside a Sumerian Temple: The Ekishnugal at Ur.” TTE: 303-334, esp. 312-13.

• Among others, discusses ritual Sumerian clothing and a possible etymological relation to Joseph’s mysterious ketonet passim. This is better known in English as his “coat of many colors” but that translation comes from the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible). No one is sure what the Hebrew means.
• FARMS transcript (requires subscription)

Wilfred Griggs et al., “Evidences of a Christian Population in the Egyptian Fayum and Genetic and Textile Studies of the Akhmim Noble Mummies.” BYU Studies 33:2 (1993): 215-243.

• Some mummies are dressed in what appears to be priestly clothing for early Christians. Color photos. Abstract here.
• “Ten of the robes on this burial are plain linen garments, but the many strands of linen ribbon wrapped around the upper half of the body are gathered together into a complex knot. This knot is found on the left shoulder on two of the robes, and on the right shoulder of the remaining eight robes. The symbol of the sacred knot or bow is common in Egypt and elsewhere and may indicate sacerdotal, or priestly, authority. The piece of clothing closest to the body is not usually well preserved, due to the destructive influence of fluids and chemicals remaining in the body. In this burial, as well as a few others, however, the woolen garment next to the skin is sufficiently well preserved for us to observe that small rosettes have been woven into the material in particular locations. There is one rosette over each breast and one on the right leg near the knee, but there is no corresponding rosette on the left leg. Across the lower abdomen, the material also has a hemmed slit about six inches long.” 225-226.
• Gospelink (subscription required). BYU Library Viewer.

Elder Carlos Asay, “The Temple Garment: An Outer Display of an Inward Commitment.” Ensign, August 1997:19-23.

John Welch and Claire Foley, “Gammadia on Early Jewish and Christian.”  BYU Studies 36:3 (1996-97): 253-60.

• (Gammadia is an anglicized plural of gamma, the third letter of the Greek alphabet. Gamma looks like a 90 degree triangle with the hypotenuse removed, and the corner at the top left, one leg going down and one to the right.
• Gospelink (subscription required). Gammadia section is near the bottom of link. BYU Library Viewer. Free PDF from BYU Studies.

Blake Ostler, “Clothed Upon: A Unique Aspect of Christian Antiquity.” BYUS 22:1 (1982): 31-45.

• Summary.
• View from BYU Library archives. Download free pdf from BYU Studies.

Stephen D. Ricks, “The Garment of Adam in Jewish, Muslim and Christian Sources.” TAW 705-740.