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The Big Gears of Legacy Volumes two, three, and four of this history cover the period during which I served as the governor of Utah. Volume II, titled Real and Right, recounts details of how I approached the job. Volume IV, In Service as a Family, captures what the experience of our service was like for our family. This volume, A Sacred Trust, focuses on eight matters which I believe have had a special and enduring impact. I call these topics “big gears of change.” The phrase “big gears of change” is drawn from a metaphor I originated that depicts activities that produce cascading consequences. Here’s the back story: The Utah Governor’s Residence is located at 603 East South Temple Street in Salt Lake City. When our family took up residency there, a large, complex, grandfather clock stood in the Grand Hallway on the main floor. Soon after we moved in, a repairman came to fix the clock. He took the time to explain to our daughter, Anne Marie, how a labyrinth of gears ranging from small ones the size of a dime to large ones the breadth of a bike sprocket moved the hands of the clock. “See if you can move the little gears with your fingers,” the repairman said. “They are all stuck together. I can’t move them,” Anne Marie reported. “Move the big gear,” he advised. “See what happens.” Anne Marie grabbed the largest of the gears with both hands and turned it back and forth. “Look, all the little gears spin too,” she shouted excitedly. Public service had acquainted me with the complexities of society and the difficulty of breaking through the gridlock formed by various political and financial interests. I came to realize this parable of the 7
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