To be true at all times are words that are fitting of C. Max Caldwell.

Whether it be loyalty to God, to family, to Church, or to country, Elder Caldwell, who was called to the Second Quorum of the Seventy last month, has striven to be true to all things.His belief - a personal motto which has extended to family and the missionaries he presided over as president of the Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission from 1983-86 - has given him direction throughout his life, he remarked.

Being true to all things comes from one of two scriptures that have made a difference to him - one being the means and the other the objective, he said.

The means: And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all - they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted. - Alma 53:20

The objective: But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come. - D&C 59:23

"I knew if we [family and missionariesT were true at all times, like the stripling warriors in Alma 53:20, then D&C 59:23 would result - to have peace in this world and eternal life in the world to come," explained Elder Caldwell.

"The thing that thrills me in Section 59 is that we can enjoy the fruits of becoming true and faithful here as well as hereafter."

Through conversation, it becomes obvious that Elder Caldwell, a member of the Kolob 3rd Ward, Springville Utah Kolob Stake, has expertise in the Doctrine and Covenants. As a longtime teacher of the Doctrine and Covenants at BYU, as well as co-author of a two-volume work on the Doctrine and Covenants, he has been asked throughout the years to speak and write about this volume of scripture.

"The Book of Mormon has given me a great feeling for the Savior and our relationship with our Heavenly Father, but the Doctrine and Covenants has brought perspective to applying those principles and putting them into practice in the Church and in my personal life," Elder Caldwell remarked. "It's given me a perspective of how the Lord has provided for us. These are the means by which we can make covenants."

Gaining a testimony of the restoration and of Joseph Smith came while Elder Caldwell served in the North Central States Mission from 1953-55, he said.

"I came home with a great love for the prophet Joseph and a deep conviction of his prophetic calling. I remember how powerfully strong my feelings were then about the message of the restoration, but I had very little doctrinal information at that point of my life.

"As I have studied the Doctrine and Covenants, it has given me the broader perspective of what the Lord did through Joseph Smith. My feelings for the Prophet Joseph have deepened as a result."

A medium-built man standing 5 foot 11 inches tall, Elder Caldwell, 58, is a lifelong member of the Church. He grew up in Vernal, Utah, where he was influenced by the example of family members.

"We didn't have a lot of the world's goods, but we had a lot of love and respect for each other," he said. "I learned that the world's goods didn't matter so much. I also learned that what you have, you take care of.

"There was a lot of work for all of us to do - cows to milk, wood to cut, coal to haul to the coal stove. My mother taught school to supplement the family income, which was a financial necessity. She did her school work and housework and we helped her with the latter. Scrubbing floors was part of life."

Elder Caldwell also watched his father struggle with poor health, enduring constant arthritic pain for 43 years. "No one knew it by how he acted. He taught me that you can still do a lot of things if you have the desire and willingness to pay the price."

He worked with his father logging and in a saw mill. "He used to take me to the mountains a lot. But that also put us up where we could camp, hunt and fish. My father gave me a great love for the beauties of nature, a love of mountains, pine trees, streams and lakes."

Elder Caldwell said it was his parents who taught him three important lessons: if you make a commitment, you keep it; respect other people, things, places and conditions; and recognize the value of hard work.

"We've tried to follow the same patterns in our own family, and have tried to be true to those principles," Elder Caldwell commented. "We have had our challenges, but we have learned if we hang on and keep working at the right things, somehow it turns out all right."

Even today, the Caldwells enjoy spending time together as a family in the mountains. "We are a close family," Elder Caldwell said. "We enjoy visiting and being together. Our children have lived good lives and brought a lot of joy to us."

Reflecting on his early Church experience, Elder Caldwell said: "I can never remember not thinking that the gospel was true. But I do remember when I came to a point where I wanted to say so. I was about 10 years old."

Elder Caldwell always had dreams of going on a mission, but when he became of age, he couldn't go because of the Korean War, when the Church curtailed missionary work of those eligible for the draft.

He married his high school sweetheart, Bonnie Adamson, during his college years at the University of Utah, and they soon started a family. Then a year after they were married, the Church authorized one missionary to serve per ward.

"One Sunday afternoon and evening I received direct guidance that I should serve a mission. And when my bishop called me and talked with me, we both knew it was right, even though I was married and my wife was expecting."

While he was serving his mission, the couple's first child died after living only 12 hours.

"The confirmation we had received earlier sustained us both through this," Elder Caldwell recounted. "The Lord strengthened my wife and me and I was able to continue and finish my mission. We both have always been grateful.

"Serving a mission was a blessing for us. We needed it and we grew because of it. It's made all the difference in the rest of our lives because it provided us with a spiritual dimension we needed. Our lives have been better because of that mission."

After his mission, Elder Caldwell returned to college and then entered the U.S. Army where he completed pilot training. He was stationed overseas in Korea and was once again away from home, this time for 13 months, leaving his wife and two little girls at home.

"I think a major lesson came out of those separations," he reflected. "We were very happily married, and when we separated, it created a great feeling of emptiness. I learned I never wanted to be lonely like that and would pay whatever price it would take to stay together."

Elder Caldwell is quick to note Sister Caldwell's devotion to the gospel, saying, "She is a very capable woman who has been able to influence others through her great spirit. She loves people and has the gift of loving and sensing needs and how to fill those needs. She loves the Lord and has a deep commitment to do whatever He asks her."

Through the years, Sister Caldwell has witnessed the growth of her husband as he has "always put the things that are important first in his life," she said.

"The more he has studied the gospel and the more he has applied the scriptures, the stronger he has become in being kind, considerate, loving and patient."

Working in Church education has given Elder Caldwell an opportunity to learn the gospel more than he might have otherwise, "but more important it has been an opportunity to learn to know the Lord," he remarked.

"I have a great love for people and a desire to help in building the kingdom. I would hope to be available and strive to be capable of fulfilling the Lord's expectations."

*****

(Additional information)

Elder C. Max Caldwell

- Family: Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Dec. 4, 1933, to Chellus M. and Electa J. Caldwell, the first of three sons. Married Bonnie Adamson in the Salt Lake Temple Sept. 2, 1952. Parents of five children, four living: Randall, born in June 1954, but died shortly after birth; Teri, 35; Tami, 33; Rick, 27; Rob, 25. Nine grandchildren.

- Education: Bachelor's degree in business administration from University of Utah, master's degree in Church history and doctrine from BYU.

- Military service: U.S. Army, 1957-61, as a pilot in Korea.

- Employment: associate professor of Church history and doctrine at BYU, 1978-present; institute teacher at Utah State University, 1970-78; seminary teacher in Salt Lake City schools, 1964-70.

- Church service: serving as regional representative at the time of his call; former president of Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission, 1983-86; bishop, stake president's counselor, branch president at Missionary Training Center, high councilor, member of the Church Adult Correlation Review Committee; served in North Central States Mission, 1953-55.