Grant: Granted posthumously, Court of the Lord Lyon, Kenneth MacDonald (1850-1906), 7 May 2013, 102nd page of the 89th Volume of the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland.

Private Registration: American College of Heraldry (3618), 11 July 2013; U.S. Heraldic Registry (20150610K), 10 June 2015.

Gary Bruce MacDonald is an ordained elder in the New England Annual (Regional) Conference of The United Methodist Church, serving as director of the Doctor of Ministry program at Southern Methodist University's Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Texas, USA, where he is also a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in religious ethics. In 2011 the Armiger was appointed by authority of Lord Godfrey James Macdonald of Macdonald, High Chief of Clan Donald, as National Chaplain for Clan Donald USA. Gary also serves as Pursuivant of Arms for CDUSA's Texas Region. A native of Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, he is married to Dr. Heidi Anne Miller.

In December 2010, following a Summer meeting with Lyon Clerk and Keeper of the Records Elizabeth Ann Roads at Edinburgh’s New Register House, the Armiger submitted to the Court of the Lord Lyon a petition for a grant of Arms to his great-great-grandfather, John MacDonald, who is believed to have emigrated from the Isle of Skye to the colony of Prince Edward Island prior to the confederation of Canada in the 1840s. In November 2011, William David Hamilton Sellar, the 37th Lord Lyon, stated that he was inclined to grant the Arms in memory of John's son, Kenneth MacDonald, who was born in Prince Edward Island circa 1850 and died in New Brunswick, Canada in 1906. After considerable correspondence with the Court, the Letters Patent were delivered in 2013, prepared by heraldic artist David Allan.

The Arms follow the West Highlands tradition of quartered Arms, retaining various elements of the heritage of Macdonald shields. For this particular achievement the armored hand with the cross exemplifies steadfast faith. The ship is symbolic of the journeys of the family between and throughout Scotland, Canada and the United States. The lion reminds one of ties to the Scottish nation.

The fourth quarter embodies a new design. The sheaves of wheat, represent both hope and the agricultural vocation practiced by Kenneth and many of his descendants. The plumb bob represents dedication to the inculcation of virtue and responsibility to the common good.

As an alternative to the clerical gallero, the Crest's axe and stump are symbolic of challenge and resilience exhibited within the family. It is also a reminder of the place that lumbering has played among some members of the family, including Harry Coleman MacDonald, the Armiger's grandfather.

The motto, Per Fidem Per Spem (By Faith By Hope), is reminiscent of the traditional Clan Donald motto, Per Tare Per Mare (By Land By Sea), and points toward the role of the Divine in the family.

The Arms are differenced with marks of cadency - the black border with three gold stars and, initially, a blue three-pointed “label”, a strap with pendants - showing that the Armiger is the first son of the third son of the fifth son of Kenneth. The label was removed at the death of the Armiger's father, Bruce Coleman MacDonald, in August 2013.

The heirs apparent to the differenced Arms are Gary's son, Jeffrey Bohmann MacDonald, and grandson, Maxwell Paul MacDonald. Other descendants include sons Jonathan Reid MacDonald and Spc. Joshua Corbin MacDonald (U.S. Army).

The Armiger also has a stepson, Brynn Allen Yoder. The heir presumptive to the undifferenced Arms is The Rev. Heath Nathan MacDonald of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the great-great-grandson of Kenneth.

The Court of the Lord Lyon also granted a Pennon 20 centimetres or thereby in length with rounded end of these Liveries Argent and Gules with Azure, a saltire Argent in the hoist, bearing the Motto “Per Fidem Per Spem” in two lines counterchanged.