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For the first time Friday, Utahns got to see Ogden's renovated Mormon temple from the inside as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opened the sacred edifice to five weeks of public viewing.

Visitors lined up throughout the day for the chance to see the temple, which crews have transformed from a Space Age appearance to a more traditional LDS temple look.

The open house, which is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors, will last through Sept. 6. Free tickets still can be reserved online at templeopenhouse.lds.org.

"The temple's entire exterior has been reshaped with new stone and art glass, and the temple entrance was moved from the west side to the east side, where it faces Washington Boulevard, one of the city's main streets," the Utah-based faith has noted on its newsroom website. "The renovation of the temple also includes reconfigured rooms and new energy-saving electrical, heating and plumbing systems. Other notable improvements include underground parking and a complete relandscaping of the temple block and inclusion of a major water feature."

Renovation of the Ogden Temple — originally dedicated in January 1972, a month before its twin in Provo (which is not planned for a makeover) — began in April 2011.

After the open house, LDS leaders will dedicate the temple Sept. 21. Three dedicatory sessions will be broadcast that Sunday — at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. — to Mormon meetinghouses throughout Utah and parts of Wyoming and Idaho, according to a news release on the faith's website.

Mormons see temples as houses of God, where they take part in their religion's highest sacraments, including eternal marriage.