NO expense has been spared, the lavish surroundings are testament to that. Everywhere you look there are chandeliers, gilded mirrors, highly polished chrome and stylish furniture. It's as if you can smell the money that has been spent on this building.

Thousands of people have come to see it and to gawp unashamedly at the opulence since its doors opened. This week I became one of them.

But this isn't one of the region's newest top-class hotels or even a stately home - it's the country's latest Mormon temple which has been built on the outskirts of Chorley near the M61 motorway.

For months its single spire has dominated the skyline, the stark white steeple rising sharply and topped off with a golden statue of the Book of Mormon prophet, Moroni.

Work began on the 15 acre site in June 1994, with a groundbreaking ceremony conducted by the Mormon's President Gordon B Hinckley.

It is estimated that the Preston Temple - as it's called - will serve 60,000 Latter-day Saints in the North of England, North Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

But before the doors are closed to the general public, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have given non-Mormons a chance to marvel at their Temple.

The tour will run for a limited time and in just the first four days the doors have been open more than 30,000 curious visitors have been through them.

People's interest shows no sign of abating - I had to queue for 50 minutes before I eventually started the tour.

From the very first moment you enter the site you are struck by its size. Carefully tended gardens - complete with rabbits hopping about on lawns - create the impression of peace and tranquillity.

The building's austere exterior, with its modern classical design clad in Olympia White granite, masks the plush surroundings which are to be found inside.

For members of the church, their temple - only the 52nd to be built in the world and the second in Britain - is the most sacred place on earth.

Following a short video presentation about the Latter-day Saints' beliefs, you are invited into their most sacred of places.

The building's scale and decor seem to pay homage to that fact. Millions of pounds have been spent on this building and it shows.

On entering the temple visitors and even church members who act as ushers have to wear special plastic slippers over their shoes.

"They're to protect the carpet," you're told and when you see the beautiful pale floor coverings you can understand their concern.

From a small chapel we were shown the amazing baptismal font which rests on the back of 12 life-size stone oxen. It was a breathtaking sight.

Then it was on to the laundry room, through the kitchen and into the canteen before entering the women's dressing room, complete with row upon row of bright white cubicles.

To one side you could catch a glimpse of the bride's changing room, the walls bedecked in pastel shades and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

The sealing room, where a bride and groom are married, again displayed the pastel shades and chandeliers which seemed to predominate.

And the tour's finale proved to be the celestial room which, for church members, symbolises the "exalted state that all may achieve through living the gospel of Jesus Christ."

Many visitors, like myself, may know little of their faith but none could help but be struck by this building's architecture and decor.

It is an amazing building but I felt a strange juxtaposition existed between the spiritual element and the modern world.

Small chapel rooms were not complete without the seemingly obligatory digital clock on the wall and telephone points. Close to the baptismal font there was an L-shaped desk which included a computer terminal.

A message at the start of the tour proclaimed: "We hope you find peace and inspiration during your visit here."

I am not a churchgoer, but personally it felt as though I'd spent an hour in the plushest penthouse suite in the Ritz Hotel.

Some other visitors seemed also to be overawed by their surroundings. One woman standing behind me whispered to her friend: "This is like something from a sci-fi television series."

But thousands more I'm sure will they find the spiritual peace and contentment which they need within the Temple's walls.

To book a tour of the Preston temple contact 01257 413198.

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