John D. Charles. Endowed from On High: Understanding the Symbols of the Endowment. (Salt Lake City UT: Horizon, 1997)

• I can’t speak to the content because I haven’t read it yet (it’s on my shelf), but I have some concerns about the author’s background. That aside, it’s been recommended to me by people I trust.
• Reviewed by Marc Schindler on his webpage.
• FAIR Bookstore, Deseret Book.

The Temple in Antiquity. Truman Madsen, ed. (Provo, Utah: BYU Religious Studies Center, 1984)

• Contains one general article by Madsen and two by Hugh Nibley, both now reprinted elsewhere, as well as multiple articles on ancient Near Eastern temples by prominent non-LDS scholars.
• Gospelink (requires subscription)

Donald W. Parry and Stephen D. Ricks, eds. The Temple in Time and Eternity. (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1999.) This is the second volume in FARMS’ Temple series. Abbreviated TTE throughout this page.

• Various essays by different authors on the temple.
• Reviewed briefly in FARMS Review of Books (along with the volume #1 above).
• Full text available from FARMS (subscription required).
• FAIR Bookstore, Deseret Book

N. B. Lundwall. Temples of The Most High. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1993.)

• Contains several discourses on the temple. The pre-1950 edition has an interesting but highly speculative and methodologically naïve article on “Sacred Geometry.” I have found an electronic copy of this article, but I don’t think it has much value, so I haven’t posted it.
• Gospelink (requires subscription)

John Welch. The Sermon at the Temple and the Sermon on the Mount: A Latter-day Saint Approach. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1990.)

• Approaches the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) and the Sermon at the Temple (3 Nephi 12-14) as a temple text, or a sort-of temple-preparation. class. This is a fascinating approach and well done.
• FARMS review here.
• FAIR Bookstore, Deseret Book
• Gospelink (requires subscription)

Matthew B. Brown and Paul T. Smith. Symbols in Stone. (American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, 1997.)

• Discusses the architecture, decorations, and symbolism of the Kirtland, Nauvoo, and Salt Lake City temples.
• Brief FARMS review here.
• Deseret Book

Hugh Nibley. The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1975.)

• Originally published in 1975, MJSP has recently been reprinted by FARMS. The text itself borders on incomprehensible, due to the technicality of the topic and the constant citing of German, Egyptian, Greek, etc., but the texts reproduced in the appendices offer striking parallels to LDS temple concepts.
• Gospelink (requires subscription) The text will apparently be available (along with some other books) in the FARMS subscribers area.
• Deseret Book

Hugh Nibley. Approaching Zion. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1989). Abbreviated AZ throughout.

• Includes some excellent Temple essays, such as “The Law of Consecration” and “The Meaning of the Atonement.”
• Gospelink (subscription required)
• Deseret Book

Hugh Nibley. Mormonism and Early Christianity. (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1987) Abbreviated MEC throughout this page.

• Various essays on early Christianity, the temple, and the apostasy. Excellent.
• Gospelink (requires subscription)
• Deseret Book

Hugh W. Nibley. Temple and Cosmos: Beyond this Ignorant Present. Don Norton, ed. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1992.) Abbreviated TAC throughout this page.

• Various essays on the temple by Hugh Nibley, with some real jewels among them.
• Gospelink (requires subscription)
• FAIR Bookstore, Deseret Book.

Temples of the Ancient World. Donald W. Parry and Stephen D. Ricks, eds. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1994.) Abbreviated as TAW throughout this page.

• Large book composed of different articles on the temple, arranged thematically.
• This is required reading for someone who wants to understand the ancient symbolism and setting of the temple ordinances.
• Gospelink (requires subscription)
• Deseret Book.

Links to the chapters in the full books. (All links to Gospelink- subscription required)

• Discourses of Brigham Young
• Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith (This is the only collection of Joseph Smith quotes arranged thematically, but it leaves out several of the best and most pertinent quotes, which can be found in The Words of Joseph Smith by Ehat and Cook.)
• Discourses of Wilfred Woodruff
• Gospel Doctrine: Sermons and Writings of Joseph F. Smith (This is a link to chapter 24, “Eternal Life and Salvation,” which has a small Temple section towards the bottom of the page.)
• Teachings of Harold B. Lee
• Teachings of Howard W. Hunter
• Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball
• Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson
• Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley

Matthew B. Brown. The Gate of Heaven. (American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, 1999)

• Highly recommended. Discusses ritual, symbolism, and temples of the Old and New Testaments. Also contains an appendix that serves as a good introduction to the relationship between the Temple ordinances and Freemasonry.
• Reviewed briefly in FARMS Review of Books and BYU Studies 39:2 (2000).
• FAIR Bookstore, Deseret Book.

This was given by Brigham Youngon April 6, 1853, at the cornerstone-laying ceremony for the Salt Lake Temple.

Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the house of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being enabled to give them the key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the holy Priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell.

-Discourses of Brigham Young, 416. This passage has been quoted in the following publications by General Authorities and LDS sources.

Elder Packer, The Holy Temple, 153.

President Harold B. Lee, Decisions for Successful Living (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 1973): 140.

Presdient Spencer W. Kimball, “The Things of Eternity—Stand We in Jeopardy?” Ensign, Jan (1977): 6

Elder Carlos E. Asay, Family Pecan Trees- Planting a Legacy of Faith at Home (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992): 221.

Elder ElRay L. Christiansen, “Some Things You Need to Know About the Temple,” Ensign, January (1972): 66.

Elder David B. Haight, “Come to the House of the Lord,” Ensign, May (1992): 15-16

LaRene Gaunt, “Finding Joy in Temple Service,” Ensign, October (1994): 7.

“Endowed with Covenants and Blessings,” Ensign, February (1995): 40.

The Temple Preparation teachers manual and student manual.

Malcolm S. Jeppsen, “Q&A: “What are the requirements for a person to receive a temple recommend for marriage?”” New Era, June (1975): 47.

Links to each of the recent Priesthood/Relief Society Manual, Teachings of Presidents of the Church.

• President Brigham Young: Chap. 41, “Temple Ordinances” & Chap. 42, “Temple Service”
• President Joseph F. Smith: Chap. 34 “Sacred Temples of the Lord”
• President Heber J. Grant: Chap. 6 “Uniting Families through Temple and Family History Work
• President Harold B. Lee: Chap. 11 “Priceless Riches of the Holy Temple”
• President David O. McKay: Chap. 13 “The Sacred Importance of Temples”

Elder Royden G. Derrick (1st Quorum of the 70, former President of the Seattle Temple.) Temples in the Last Days (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1987.)

Out of print.

Elder James E. Talmage. The House of the Lord: A Study of Temples Ancient and Modern.

• The newest edition is a reprint of the original 1912 printing, with many pictures of the interior of the SLC temple. Some of those old photos are available here.
• New edition with pictures reviewed by FARMS here.
• The full book is available online from Gospelink (subscription required)
• For quality color pictures of the interior of the Salt Lake city temple, see this Ensign article.

Elder Boyd K. Packer. The Holy Temple. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1980.)

• Full book in Gospelink (subscription required.)
• This book has also been abbreviated into a shorter version for Temple Preparation classes, Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple.

The LDS church offers a Temple Preparation class on request, though the manual doesn’t cover many of the things listed here. Ask your Bishop. I’ve recently been called to be the Temple Prep. teacher for our ward, and I am darn excited.

The teacher’s manual for the class, entitled Endowed from On High: Temple Preparation Seminar is here. The student manual is an abridgment of Elder Packer’s The Holy Temple, available here. I have also created a webpage specifically for those preparing to go through the temple, here.

BYU offers a three-credit class called “Texts and Ancient Temples” in the catalog under NELG 345. When I took it, Temples of the Ancient World and The Gate of Heaven were the textbooks. The class description reads “Major ancient Near Eastern texts dealing with the temple; analysis of primary elements of ancient temple type as a place of worship.” An excellent class, covering much of the material described on this webpage.

BSAF = John M. Lundquist and Stephen D. Ricks, eds. By Study and Also by Faith: Essays in Honor of Hugh W. Nibley on the Occasion of His Eightieth Birthday. (SLC: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1990). 2 volumes.

BYUS = BYU Studies. All articles are available for electronic download for $2 each.

DAS = Stephen Ricks, Donald Parry, and Andrew Hedges. The Disciple as Scholar: Essays on Scripture and the Ancient World in Honor of Richard Lloyd Anderson. (Provo, UT: FARMS, 2000).

EM = Daniel Ludlow, ed. Encyclopedia of Mormonism. (New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1992). ISBN: 0028796055

JBMS = Journal of Book of Mormon Studies (FARMS).

MEC = Hugh W. Nibley. Mormonism and Early Christianity. (Provo,Utah: FARMS,1987)

OTRS = Hugh W. Nibley. Old Testament and Related Studies (Provo,Utah: FARMS, )

TAC = Hugh W. Nibley. Temple and Cosmos- Beyond This Ignorant Present. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1992.)

TAW = Donald W. Parry and Stephen D. Ricks. Temples of the Ancient World. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1994.)

TTE = Donald W. Parry and Stephen D. Ricks. The Temple in Time and Eternity. (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1999.)
Many of these books and articles are available electronically on the GospeLink CD-rom, which you used to be able to get for $5 if you joined the Deseret Book Club, which is unfortunately no longer the case. GospeLink’s site is here. They are apparently soon shifting the program to be internet-based, so you can access the program from school, home, work, etc.

I strongly recommend buying hard-copies of these books, both to have one and to support such research. Try buying them from the FAIR bookstore, FARMS (subscribe and get a member discount), or if you must, the good used book search engines on my front page. If you happen to be in the Chicago Hyde Park ward, several of these books are available in the ward library.