Motto

"For Christ and His Kingdom" is first seen as an engraving on the Blanchard Bell in 1872; however the engraving is in Latin: "Christo et Regno Ejus." While this is the first written instance of the motto it is clear that Christ's kingdom is a common theme in the sermons and speeches of Jonathan Blanchard, even before he arrived at Wheaton College. In 1846, before coming to Wheaton, Jonathan Blanchard had lectured on the subject "The Kingdom of Christ and the duty of The American College respecting it." In a reflection on his own life from 1892 Jonathan Blanchard wrote: "I came to Wheaton in 1860…seeking…a college 'for Christ and his Kingdom.'" Charles Blanchard in his autobiography wrote "I marvel now as I think of his (Jonathan Blanchard's) faith and courage and cheer as in those unfavorable circumstances of 1860, he pushed on the work of empire-building, Not a material empire but a spiritual kingdom founded on the souls of men, to outlast the mountains and the stars." In June of 1893 the motto appeared for the first time in a college publication in Echoes. In 1907 the phrase is in the college catalog for the first time.