Chapter 12: Judgment and RewardSaved by Grace, Judged According to Our Works

In brief

If salvation is free, why will everyone be judged by their works? Seaich explains that salvation from the Fall and entry into heaven are two different things. The first comes by grace alone. The second is awarded “according to” (kata) one’s works, which serve as a “meter reading” of how God’s gift was used. Some are saved yet “suffer loss” (1 Corinthians 3:15). The gospel is preached to the dead as a “first chance,” and only the sons of perdition are finally lost.

This page summarizes Chapter 12 of Understanding Mormonism: The Restored Gospel of Christ and Its Biblical Foundations in Latter-day Saint Belief by Eugene Seaich (2026 Annotated Edition, edited by Eric Hendrickson). The summary is quoted from the book’s “In brief” and is editorial material, not the author’s words. The full chapter, with its notes and argument, is in the book.

Independent scholarship by Eugene Seaich. Not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.