Opinion ID: 768474
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Use Of The Motto

Text: 80 Since their adoption as the official motto in 1959, the words of the motto have been included by successive Secretaries of State on official documents surrounding the official seal, configured as follows: 81 NOTE: THE OFFICIAL SEAL IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS OPINION. 82 Other state officials, including the State Tax Commissioner, have used the seal and the words of the motto, or sometimes the words of the motto separately, on official forms and documents. Officials in several Ohio counties use the words of the motto on public documents. The motto also appears on the Franklin County Courthouse as well as on that county's seal and flag. 83 A pamphlet, Ohio's Citizens Digest, distributed by the Secretary of State lists, among other things, Ohio's symbols. Regarding the words of the motto, it says: 7. The State's Motto 84 In 1959, the Ohio legislature adopted the state's motto With God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). 85 (JA at 306.) 86 A pamphlet, Ohio: The Buckeye State, distributed by The Ohio Historical Society reads in part: STATE MOTTO 87 In 1866, a bill passed in the Ohio legislature specifying a motto to be incorporated into the Great Seal. 88 The motto, Imerium in Imperio, an empire within an empire. But the motto was to be short-lived. 89 Great clamor arose over the pretentious feudal meaning of the Latin words, and in 1867, the law authorizing it was repealed. Ohio had no motto for the next 91 years. 90 In 1958, Jimmie Mastronardo, a sixth grade student in Cincinnati, became concerned that Ohio was the only state to have no motto. He found the perfect one in Matthew 19:26: With God all things are possible. His classmates and interested friends helped him circulate a petition to the legislature, and in 1959, the new motto was adopted. 91 (JA at 363.) 92 The State of Ohio web site, http://www.state.oh.us, specifically web page www.oplin.lib.oh.us/products/ohiodefined/ohd-9.html, exhibits the words of the motto as follows: 93 NOTE: THE WORDS OF THE MOTTO ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS OPINION.
94 While the mottos of other states use the word God in various combinations, Ohio's is the only state motto which quotes directly from either the Old Testament or the New Testament of the Christian Bible.