“The first thing expressed in my seal is a 
cross, black within the heart, to put me in mind that faith in Christ crucified saves us… ‘For the just shall live by faith.’ …But this heart is fixed upon the center of the white rose, to show that faith causes joy, consolation, and peace.… This rose, moreover, is fixed in a sky-colored ground, to denote that such joy of faith in the spirit is but an earnest and beginning of heavenly joy to come.… And around this groundbase is a golden ring, to signify that such bliss in heaven is endless, and more precious than all joys and treasures, since gold is the best and most precious metal. Christ, our dear Lord, will give grace unto eternal life. Amen.”
-ELS Catechism and Explanation (p. 209)
