Chapter 15: But Are We Not in Fact Saved by Grace Plus Works (2 Nephi 25:23)?The Meaning of “After All We Can Do”

In brief

What does 2 Nephi 25:23, “it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do,” really mean? Many Latter-day Saints read it as “earn what you can, and grace covers the rest.” Seaich shows that the verse itself defines “all we can do”: “to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God.” The parallel passages 2 Nephi 10:24 and Alma 24:11 confirm this reading. Good works confirm salvation but cannot cause it, because grace and works “are mutually exclusive” (Romans 11:6).

This page summarizes Chapter 15 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.