Our system relies on each succeeding generation making a sacrifice in the name of service. As a newcomer to elected politics, I ask for your confidence, I ask for your goodwill, I ask for your friendship and your ideas. Will I make mistakes along the way? Unquestionably. Will I occasionally need forgiveness and understanding? Absolutely. What I can promise each of you is my very best.

During the last year and a half, I have been exposed to great ideas generated at the localist of levels, by acquaintances old and new, and by perfect strangers who care deeply about a better tomorrow.

I sometimes felt like Alexis de Tocqueville in 1831 as he discovered the soul of America. Only in my case, I discovered the heart, mind and soul of the greatest people on Earth who proudly call themselves citizens of the greatest state in America.

You are the people I have been elected to lead — and I do so with deep humility and an enormous responsibility—not to let you down — but I will lead and I will take an occasional risk. We live in an era in which taking no risk is sometimes the biggest risk of all. As Fred Wilcox used to say, "You can't steal second base while keeping your foot on first."

We are all here because of those who came before us: most of us are a generation or two removed from the land, but we share a common heritage with those who farmed land not fit for farming, built magnificent structures with only their hands and hearts—and risked their lives in dangerous mines so that their children could have a better life.

We owe a great debt to our ancestor immigrants — whether they came in 1847 or like my in-laws during the last generation. They're the ones who built Utah's infrastructure and left us a remarkable legacy.

In my own family, I have war veterans and teachers; public servants and private business owners; proselytizers and saloon keepers. Regardless of our origin or family background, we as Utahns share an undeniable bond — a link to our past — something that gives us purpose and a living frame of reference.

It is the reason we name our children after our grandparents. It is the reason we keep family businesses intact through the years. It is the reason I chose to use my grandfather's Bible as I took the Oath of Office this day. We all long to stay linked to our past because it defines us.

The histories of our ancestors are filled with countless stories of courage and faith and an indomitable will to embrace change rather than be defeated by it. Their contributions echo off canyon walls and down city streets, across wind-swept dunes and over snow-covered peaks. They speak to us through the years from the lonely expanse where once a golden spike united an entire continent, and down the information highway that will continue to impact our lives in ways we cannot fully comprehend.