1st Nephi Chapter 1

[Rick]

Hello,

I am 44yrs old. I was baptized when I was 10hrs old in the LDS church. In my 20’s I was excommunicated. With that said have had a hard life. 
I currently attend a non-denominational Christian church and I was recently asked if I am LDS or not.

My response to that question currently remains, (I don’t know!) how does one know who and what they are? When it comes to religion and faith.

I absolutely without a doubt believe in God! I believe in Christ and that he died for me and all of humanity. And oh how I struggle with religion. The he’ll, fire and brimstone aspect of the teachings are so frustrating to me, to the point where I hate it.

About 5yrs ago now I forced myself to finally read the Bible.it was so difficult to read, and I made it through, and I hated the majority of it as it focused so much on Gods wrath!

getting back to what brings me here to this forum is that question above that I listed. Am I LDS? And, how does one know? 
These questions led me to the belief that in order to answer this question I must read the material, Pray, and try to understand exactly what the LDS faith believes.

So, with that long drawn out story I have started to read the Book of Mormon starting with 1st Nephi Chapter 1 and just like the Bible I find myself overly frustrated and angry that it too just shows Gods wrath. I’m hoping I can get some honest feedback from my understanding of this chapter. 
Below is what I wrote as I processed the chapter. If you would be so kind to let me know what you think I would forever be grateful. Thank you for your time.

1 Nephi Ch 1

Nephi testifies that what he is writing is true.

Nephi writes about a year, not sure which year where he mentions his father just to say his name (Lehi) and that he lived in Jerusalem all his life.

During this unknown year he writes that many prophets came to  tell the people that they must repent. If they don’t Jerusalem will be destroyed.

     I guess I can infer that he means God will destroy them. That is not said but is that what is implied? Is that what he means? If so, here we go again down this path of God being vengeful!

     (I as an imperfect being hate this!) Why is this the focus that we put on God? Why is it that there are so many references to God being so hateful/wrathful/vengeful and so full of destruction!

        (This is not the God I believe in!)

Moving on, 

Nephi writes that his father then prayed for the people of Jerusalem.

     (It says his people, so again I am inferring he means Jerusalem, I assume that is accurate.)

   Gosh I struggle with this so much. Now it continues on vaguely. Nephi writes that as his father prayed on behalf of his people a pillar of fire appears and tells him something, apparently a lot of something? What that something is we don’t know. However he writes that his father quakes and trembles exceedingly. Which I assume means what he heard scared him/terrified him.

      (Back to God being something to fear? Someone who instills terror?) still not the God I believe in, or want to believe in.

Then it says he went home being overcome with the spirit? (So many questions?)

Then during sleep he had a vision of heaven thinking he may have seen God and angels around God singing to God.

From what I gather Nephi writes that his father is looking up from earth into heaven and sees one of the angels descending down from heaven toward the earth, then shortly after twelve more follow. The angel comes before him and gives him a book which the angel instructs him to read.

Then after reading he says his father then understood all the mysterious abominations of Israel and understood why it must be destroyed, which are left unknown. Just that they must die by the sword and others to be swept away into Babylon?

      (I assume Babylon is hell) Wow! We are not even out of the first chapter and all I have heard about God so far is that he is instilling fear and hate while hanging out in heaven being overly praised by all the host in heaven while at the same time pining to destroy an entire society by way of the sword and damnation into hell for all eternity. 

     (Honestly, this all sounds more like the devil to me! Definitely not God!)

Nephi continues to write that his father after reading the book praises god calling him mighty and wonderful and merciful? What? (So at this point, I guess I’m supposed to infer that God showed him good things as well? Or should we infer that he is so scared that he is trying to save himself from this evil God and therefore says wonderful things to him? I’m really not sure!)

He then says to God that as long as everyone comes to him they will not perish. (This God is Strident or Truculent, he is ranthoneous and a dogmatist. Hateful and cruel.) 

Nephi goes onto write that his father’s heart rejoices because of the things he saw and because of the things God showed him but those things are vague. He does not speak of what those things were just that they were there.

      (I’m still not sure if I should believe that there were good things or not. As he spoke before being terrified is he saying this because he is so scared?) Since we are talking about God here let’s give the benefit of the doubt and say yes indeed he saw great and wonderful things. Let’s assume that God is good (Which I believe with my whole heart that he is) how do we just move on from all the bad and awful that is happening? If we truly do believe that God is amazing, wonderful, all loving, all forgiving, all the really good stuff then how can we possibly accept all this bad stuff. How can we legitimately say that he is hateful, vengeful, spiteful, and bad at the same time? The answer - WE CANT!!!)

        This is all the same bad stuff that’s in the Bible. It’s exactly what I hate about religions in general. The hell, fire, and brimstone is just too much. It’s just not true! 

Nephi continues to write that he won’t write about his father and that he will only write about his on the plates.

Then he writes about his father again saying Lehi testified to the people trying to get them to repent but they would not listen. He also told them about the coming of Christ.

The people became angry at Lehi and sought to try to kill him. Nephi then talks about the tender mercies of God and how he saves those who have faith. 

      (In this I hear God. It is in these type of statements I truly feel God and know that he is here with me.) 

In all these stories from the Bible and now this first chapter in the Book of Mormon I testify to God and myself I guess that I can truly understand that as it is still to this day back then the world was so messed up.

I believe there were and are bad things that happen. I believe that we as people try to make sense out of the bad things that happen. It is easy to try and blame God but no matter how hard we try it is truly not God who causes those bad things. It is simply a basic natural consequence of just what is.

If you put your hand on the stove you will get burned. Not because god burned but because that is the natural consequence.

If you jump in a lake and can’t swim and drown that is the natural consequence that will happen. God did not drown that individual.

Similarly when plagues, earthquakes, floods occurred back in biblical times they were not caused by God but by the natural shifts and changes in The earth. 

When plagues came along with diseases and many children died it was the natural consequence of the disease as we did not clean correctly. God did not kill babies or anyone for that matter.

God does not wipe out civilizations. He does not get angry and smite those he hates. He does not hate, he is not angry, he is not evil! He is love! He is all forgiving. He is God, he is our father in heaven who would, does and will always continue to help us and above all love us without condition. He is the perfect father and mother in one, for eternity. He is LOVE!

      I truly believe at least in this first chapter Nephi and his father are making things way to complicated and are distorting the fact in a desperate attempt to understand the chaos and awful things that are happening around them in the world.

      They are getting confused by what is the natural consequences of life and their experiences with God. 

   I do not believe this is their fault and I do not believe that they believe that they are lying. I do believe that they believe it and have confused what is true and in doing so have tainted the love of God.  

     That is my take on this first chapter.

[Calm]

1 hour ago, Rick said:

was baptized when I was 10hrs old in the LDS churc

Do you mean years and not hours? 

[Calm]

1 hour ago, Rick said:

guess I can infer that he means God will destroy them. That is not said but is that what is implied? Is that what he means? If so, here we go again down this path of God being vengeful!

Some people interpret scripture to teach that God is vengeful. Others believe that is man’s understanding and instead God respects man’s agency and cannot protect those who refuse and reject him, because by doing so they reject his protection.  Jerusalem was destroyed by its enemies.  They did not seek help from God, but from those who did not care enough to protect them, even if they might have been strong enough to do so (Zedikiah revolting against Babylon and allying with Egypt led to the final destruction and exile of the elite to Babylon 587 BCE).

Edited March 24, 2025 by Calm

[ZealouslyStriving]

I notice that in your whole analysis you didn't mention:

"...and he testified that the things which he saw and heard, and also the things which he read in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of a Messiah, and also the redemption of the world."

** Was that an intentional or unintentional omission? **

Edit: After a close rereading, you do mention it in passing, as almost an afterthought - when it is, in fact, the key to your dilemma.

Edited March 24, 2025 by ZealouslyStriving

[MustardSeed]

Hi Rick- 

sounds like you were a member during your most impressionable years.  I internalized the fearful messaging you refer to ( I’m 10 years older than you) but  I’ve been told time and again that I misunderstood what I was told, or that it must have been the wrong filter I was hearing the messages through.  
 

You’re wondering who you are? If you were excommunicated (maybe you still would be, but chances are by todays standard you wouldn’t be) , the answer to someone else’s question would be “I was when I was younger”.  And it sounds like you have been a believer in “God’s Gospel” most of your life.  That’s a good place to start imo.  
 

From your analysis it looks like you gravitate towards the punitive expressions of scripture.  So do I.  Scripture has never been a comfort for me.  I look for communion with God in ways that are more peaceful. 
 

Do you typically react poorly to criticism? Was your church excommunication traumatic? Do you avoid conflict? Is ego easily bruised? Do you fear consequences? Are you a rule follower (though imperfect?) Do you hold high expectations of yourself? 
 

in my opinion, the church has made big changes (but doesn’t admit how it used to be) and there might be room for you to see the guidance of the LDS church as much more gentle than you have in the past. 
 

it seems like you may be wondering about the LDS church as a current option for you.  There are lots of incredible things about the LDS church and membership in it.  There is space for all here- 

welcome to the board. 

[teddyaware]

10 hours ago, Rick said:

Hello,

I am 44yrs old. I was baptized when I was 10hrs old in the LDS church. In my 20’s I was excommunicated. With that said have had a hard life. 
I currently attend a non-denominational Christian church and I was recently asked if I am LDS or not.

My response to that question currently remains, (I don’t know!) how does one know who and what they are? When it comes to religion and faith.

I absolutely without a doubt believe in God! I believe in Christ and that he died for me and all of humanity. And oh how I struggle with religion. The he’ll, fire and brimstone aspect of the teachings are so frustrating to me, to the point where I hate it.

About 5yrs ago now I forced myself to finally read the Bible.it was so difficult to read, and I made it through, and I hated the majority of it as it focused so much on Gods wrath!

getting back to what brings me here to this forum is that question above that I listed. Am I LDS? And, how does one know? 
These questions led me to the belief that in order to answer this question I must read the material, Pray, and try to understand exactly what the LDS faith believes.

So, with that long drawn out story I have started to read the Book of Mormon starting with 1st Nephi Chapter 1 and just like the Bible I find myself overly frustrated and angry that it too just shows Gods wrath. I’m hoping I can get some honest feedback from my understanding of this chapter. 
Below is what I wrote as I processed the chapter. If you would be so kind to let me know what you think I would forever be grateful. Thank you for your time.

 

1 Nephi Ch 1

Nephi testifies that what he is writing is true.

Nephi writes about a year, not sure which year where he mentions his father just to say his name (Lehi) and that he lived in Jerusalem all his life.

During this unknown year he writes that many prophets came to  tell the people that they must repent. If they don’t Jerusalem will be destroyed.

     I guess I can infer that he means God will destroy them. That is not said but is that what is implied? Is that what he means? If so, here we go again down this path of God being vengeful!

     (I as an imperfect being hate this!) Why is this the focus that we put on God? Why is it that there are so many references to God being so hateful/wrathful/vengeful and so full of destruction!

        (This is not the God I believe in!)

Moving on, 

Nephi writes that his father then prayed for the people of Jerusalem.

     (It says his people, so again I am inferring he means Jerusalem, I assume that is accurate.)

   Gosh I struggle with this so much. Now it continues on vaguely. Nephi writes that as his father prayed on behalf of his people a pillar of fire appears and tells him something, apparently a lot of something? What that something is we don’t know. However he writes that his father quakes and trembles exceedingly. Which I assume means what he heard scared him/terrified him.

      (Back to God being something to fear? Someone who instills terror?) still not the God I believe in, or want to believe in.

Then it says he went home being overcome with the spirit? (So many questions?)

Then during sleep he had a vision of heaven thinking he may have seen God and angels around God singing to God.

From what I gather Nephi writes that his father is looking up from earth into heaven and sees one of the angels descending down from heaven toward the earth, then shortly after twelve more follow. The angel comes before him and gives him a book which the angel instructs him to read.

Then after reading he says his father then understood all the mysterious abominations of Israel and understood why it must be destroyed, which are left unknown. Just that they must die by the sword and others to be swept away into Babylon?

      (I assume Babylon is hell) Wow! We are not even out of the first chapter and all I have heard about God so far is that he is instilling fear and hate while hanging out in heaven being overly praised by all the host in heaven while at the same time pining to destroy an entire society by way of the sword and damnation into hell for all eternity. 

     (Honestly, this all sounds more like the devil to me! Definitely not God!)

Nephi continues to write that his father after reading the book praises god calling him mighty and wonderful and merciful? What? (So at this point, I guess I’m supposed to infer that God showed him good things as well? Or should we infer that he is so scared that he is trying to save himself from this evil God and therefore says wonderful things to him? I’m really not sure!)

He then says to God that as long as everyone comes to him they will not perish. (This God is Strident or Truculent, he is ranthoneous and a dogmatist. Hateful and cruel.) 

Nephi goes onto write that his father’s heart rejoices because of the things he saw and because of the things God showed him but those things are vague. He does not speak of what those things were just that they were there.

      (I’m still not sure if I should believe that there were good things or not. As he spoke before being terrified is he saying this because he is so scared?) Since we are talking about God here let’s give the benefit of the doubt and say yes indeed he saw great and wonderful things. Let’s assume that God is good (Which I believe with my whole heart that he is) how do we just move on from all the bad and awful that is happening? If we truly do believe that God is amazing, wonderful, all loving, all forgiving, all the really good stuff then how can we possibly accept all this bad stuff. How can we legitimately say that he is hateful, vengeful, spiteful, and bad at the same time? The answer - WE CANT!!!)

        This is all the same bad stuff that’s in the Bible. It’s exactly what I hate about religions in general. The hell, fire, and brimstone is just too much. It’s just not true! 

Nephi continues to write that he won’t write about his father and that he will only write about his on the plates.

Then he writes about his father again saying Lehi testified to the people trying to get them to repent but they would not listen. He also told them about the coming of Christ.

The people became angry at Lehi and sought to try to kill him. Nephi then talks about the tender mercies of God and how he saves those who have faith. 

      (In this I hear God. It is in these type of statements I truly feel God and know that he is here with me.) 

In all these stories from the Bible and now this first chapter in the Book of Mormon I testify to God and myself I guess that I can truly understand that as it is still to this day back then the world was so messed up.

I believe there were and are bad things that happen. I believe that we as people try to make sense out of the bad things that happen. It is easy to try and blame God but no matter how hard we try it is truly not God who causes those bad things. It is simply a basic natural consequence of just what is.

If you put your hand on the stove you will get burned. Not because god burned but because that is the natural consequence.

If you jump in a lake and can’t swim and drown that is the natural consequence that will happen. God did not drown that individual.

Similarly when plagues, earthquakes, floods occurred back in biblical times they were not caused by God but by the natural shifts and changes in The earth. 

When plagues came along with diseases and many children died it was the natural consequence of the disease as we did not clean correctly. God did not kill babies or anyone for that matter.

God does not wipe out civilizations. He does not get angry and smite those he hates. He does not hate, he is not angry, he is not evil! He is love! He is all forgiving. He is God, he is our father in heaven who would, does and will always continue to help us and above all love us without condition. He is the perfect father and mother in one, for eternity. He is LOVE!

      I truly believe at least in this first chapter Nephi and his father are making things way to complicated and are distorting the fact in a desperate attempt to understand the chaos and awful things that are happening around them in the world.

      They are getting confused by what is the natural consequences of life and their experiences with God. 

   I do not believe this is their fault and I do not believe that they believe that they are lying. I do believe that they believe it and have confused what is true and in doing so have tainted the love of God.  

     That is my take on this first chapter.

Does the fact that Doctrine and Covenants Sections 76 and 138 beautifully testify that by the time of God’s final judgement nearly all the men and women who have ever lived on this earth are going to receive a glorious bodily resurrection and be blessed to obtain an eternal inheritance in a marvelous kingdom of heavenly glory help to temper your extremely negative and narrow view of the scriptures? Or were you excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints before you were able to learn that of all the Christian religions it’s the Latter-Day Saints who embrace the most merciful, optimistic and broadly inclusive plan of salvation, a truly marvelous plan of redemption that, as much as possible, reaches out in great patience and long suffering to embrace the entire human family?

It appears your mind has evolved to become so fixated on God’s moral obligation to punish sin that you fail to recognize God punishes sin for the sinner’s own good and for his ultimate salvation. By the time of the final judgement, nearly all who ever lived will perfectly understand that God’s judgements are motivated by his perfect love and by his great desire to bring salvation and redemption of the entire human family. It’s all based upon the eternal verity that God allows us to experience the bitter that we might ultimately learn how to prize the good.

Sooner or later the eternal verities of which I speak will finally begin to dawn on you, and when they do you will lament that you wasted so much precious time on an imbalanced and distorted view of the scriptures that prevented you from being able to move forward spiritually in a positive way. God loves each and every one of his children with perfect love (and that includes you), and until that day of awakening comes you will be needlessly and unproductively kicking against the pricks.

 

Edited March 24, 2025 by teddyaware

[Benjamin McGuire]

I have time for a few quick comments this morning.

First - the destruction of Jerusalem. I think that it is easy for us (and probably easier for people historically) to place at God's feet the responsibility for everything that happens. In some ways, the modern and most extreme for of this was developed by the German Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1766), who coined the idea of "The best of all possible worlds." The premise behind this idea was the theory that God created the best of all possible worlds - if there could have been a better outcome, then God would have already adjusted creation accordingly. Evil in this model is necessary because some evil is necessary to create that best outcome - but God, in His wisdom, has already reduced that evil to a minimal state.

His theory, which at first received a fair amount of recognition, was first highly criticized following the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, which killed as many as 50,000 people. Had it maintained its popularity, it likely would have received even more criticism following the two World Wars. But, we could attribute wars to people. An earthquake in 1755 was still largely an act of God. Given the interest in the Lisbon earthquake, humanity started to investigate them scientifically, and by the mid 19th century, we learned about the existence of seismic waves. Our understanding of the mechanics of earthquakes didn't really take off until 1906, following the San Francisco earthquake, and we didn't develop the theory of plate tectonics until 1965 (they were still primarily teaching continental drift when I was in grade school - yes, I'm old). But today, we understand earthquakes as a natural (and to a limited extent even predictable) phenomenon. In other words, it would take divine intervention to stop an earthquake - but not to cause one.

This is relevant because there is this problem that is going on in Jerusalem in the historical context in which the Book of Mormon starts. There are two superpowers in the world - Egypt and Babylon. And they want to conquer each other - and the route that leads between the two of them goes right through Judah. The prophets at the time were telling the political leaders to avoid as much as possible alliances with either of the two. Babylon conquers Jerusalem - and then, in a bid to throw off the Babylonian rule, the Jews make a deal with Egypt (warned against by the prophets) - and revolt against Babylonian control. When Babylon returns to put down the rebellion, Egypt pulls back, and Judah falls - and much of the destruction that occurs at this time is retaliatory - Babylon is simply not interested in maintaining a vassal state that will, at the first sign of weakness, side with their allies. And while Egypt was more than willing to allow Judah to become a buffer for Babylonian aggression, they weren't willing to actually protect Judah from that aggression (the cost was just too high).

So, this is a much too brief historical context for the prophets prophesying that unless they repent (i.e. unless they do what the prophets tell them to do), Jerusalem is going to be destroyed. Is this destruction the work of a vengeful God? Or is is it simply the natural consequences of poor decisions on the part of the political leadership of Judah? Could God have prevented the destruction of Jerusalem? I think that this tends to get us to question our own assumptions about how God works His will, and the degree of responsibility God has for bad things that happen. Is God vengeful when He allows bad things to happen to people? It is an interesting question. Leibniz only solves this by asserting that if God had changed anything, the outcome would (of necessity) have been even worse. It is an interesting argument - and one that most of us, I think, reject.

The Book of Mormon deals with some of this problem in 2 Nephi 2, where it expands the scope of God's interest. God's "eternal purposes [are] in the end of man," Lehi argues in verse 15. That purpose necessitated the fall - as Lehi argues in verse 22: "And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end." And while Lehi's view dovetails a bit with Leibniz, it diverges. Lehi has a scapegoat in the devil on which to blame much of the evil in the world. He is far more interested in the question of agency, than in the question of control over creation (and so to some extent a lack of agency).

So is it God that is responsible for the destruction that Lehi predicts (along with the other prophets)? Is it the Israelites? Is it the Babylonians (the ones who actually do the destruction)? The religious like to believe that God saves them/protects them/makes them successful when they keep the commandments. But this is a distinct theological take on scripture. In modern times, one branch of this idea is Prosperity Theology. When we have people who are subjugated or repressed, they have a completely different take - and we see a Liberation Theology. Theology is a broad topic. And sometimes we need to be careful in understanding what it is, exactly, that we are suggesting with our scriptural interpretations. There is one really important thing to point out - you write this:

On 3/24/2025 at 1:32 AM, Rick said:

(I assume Babylon is hell) Wow!

And yet, in this case, Babylon is quite literally, Babylon. Lehi likely leaves during a brief pause in the ongoing violence that occurs between the two Jewish revolutions described in the link. I think that in general, we have a lot of agreement on this issue. But, I think that we also need to see the complicated ways in which the characters in the Book of Mormon confront these same issues - and to recognize that their resolution won't always agree with our own.

Second - sometimes scripture is in dialogue with other scriptures. One of the interesting things about 1 Nephi 1 is that it's primary goal seems (at least to me) to be trying to portray the Nephite departure from Jerusalem as a new Exodus - that Jerusalem (and Judah as a whole) is the new Egypt (especially in light of that historical context in which Judah has allied themselves with the Egyptians). And in this context, a lot of the imagery that is used is pointing towards Lehi as a new Moses. When Lehi sees the pillar fire on the rock, we are supposed to be reminded of both Moses and the burning bush, and the pillar of fire leading the Israelites during the Exodus. And how does Moses respond to the burning bush in Exodus 3:6? "And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God." If you are going to be a prophet like Moses, this is the proper response (or at least the way to describe it).

It's actually the end of the first chapter and the beginning of the second chapter where this is best illustrated. Lehi, as you know, goes home and has a vision. Then he later has a dream (they are two different things). But this is supposed to remind us of Numbers 12:6: "And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream." So when Nephi writes about his father he tells us: "he was carried away in a vision" (1:8) and "the Lord spake unto my father, yea, even in a dream," (2:1). You can see the connection here, I think. The way in which it is presented is itself a part of the rhetorical strategy of the text. If we fail to see the references to other scripture, it can keep us from understanding what the text is trying to say. The difficulty here is that when texts make allusions to other text - when they reference other material, we have to be familiar enough with that material to understand the larger argument - the intentions of the author - the way that they wanted their text to be read. It is not always an easy thing.

And finally -

 

On 3/24/2025 at 1:32 AM, Rick said:

Nephi continues to write that he won’t write about his father and that he will only write about his on the plates.

Then he writes about his father again saying Lehi testified to the people trying to get them to repent but they would not listen. He also told them about the coming of Christ.

By my count, Nephi introduces his text to us at least four times. And each time he does so, he tells us why what we were expecting him to say and what he actually said was different - and each time he provides a new expectation (only to shoot it down again). It fascinates me. But it also points to the idea that we should read, and reread the text. And I think that if we can get past some of the things that we struggle with, there is a lot in there that is really good - I have found the Book of Mormon to provide a great deal of food for thought, and as a starting point for personal revelation and self reflection.

I also think that it's okay to develop your own theodicy     (a term coined by Leibniz). We all work within a framework of limited understanding. It's good to allow our scripture the same courtesy that we give ourselves.

Anyway, that's my two cents.

[Calm]

I am glad you had the time, Ben.

Edited March 25, 2025 by Calm

[JVW]

On 3/24/2025 at 1:32 AM, Rick said:

Hello,

I am 44yrs old. I was baptized when I was 10hrs old in the LDS church. In my 20’s I was excommunicated. With that said have had a hard life. 
I currently attend a non-denominational Christian church and I was recently asked if I am LDS or not.

My response to that question currently remains, (I don’t know!) how does one know who and what they are? When it comes to religion and faith.

I absolutely without a doubt believe in God! I believe in Christ and that he died for me and all of humanity. And oh how I struggle with religion. The he’ll, fire and brimstone aspect of the teachings are so frustrating to me, to the point where I hate it.

About 5yrs ago now I forced myself to finally read the Bible.it was so difficult to read, and I made it through, and I hated the majority of it as it focused so much on Gods wrath!

getting back to what brings me here to this forum is that question above that I listed. Am I LDS? And, how does one know? 
These questions led me to the belief that in order to answer this question I must read the material, Pray, and try to understand exactly what the LDS faith believes.

So, with that long drawn out story I have started to read the Book of Mormon starting with 1st Nephi Chapter 1 and just like the Bible I find myself overly frustrated and angry that it too just shows Gods wrath. I’m hoping I can get some honest feedback from my understanding of this chapter. 
Below is what I wrote as I processed the chapter. If you would be so kind to let me know what you think I would forever be grateful. Thank you for your time.

I am wondering who God is to you? How would you describe Him? What would you say His attributes are?

Jesus Christ is the God of Israel. We learn about Him from the Israelite prophets and apostles. If it weren't for the Jews we wouldn't know of His divinity or existence. My point is that without the Bible we wouldn't know who Jesus Christ is so if you read the Bible and don't like the god that's portrayed, maybe who you think Jesus Christ is is not who He really is? Maybe your perspective of Him is warped by your own opinion and the opinions of those who also maybe have an incorrect view of who God is. I'm just giving some food for thought, not trying to sound condescending or judgmental (I never know how my tone comes across online). If you want to know who the God of Israel is, read the Bible without commentary and pray to God about what you read (assuming you believe that God is alive and can still communicate with you.)

God is the way that He is and He is unapologetic. He gives and He takes. He destroys and He creates. He allows us to fall into temptation and He redeems. He allowed Hitler to happen. He allows (or perhaps causes) all natural disasters, plagues, famines, diseases, and death to occur. Billions of people have died as a result of His actions or choice to not intervene. At the very least He has caused our mortal condition as a result of the choice of Eve and Adam and we are all born with a terminal condition. So if He had Elijah kill 450 false priests of Ba'al in the Old Testament, or caused Fire and Brimstone to fall on Sodom, or caused the entire Earth to flood and only leave 8 people alive, I think that's kind of in God's wheelhouse.  It is not up to me to judge God for His actions. It is for me to learn about God, accept what I learn as truth or try to gain a witness of it as truth, and then do the work to conform my views with what has been written in God's word.

Just my two cents. I'm curious to read your response to this if you have one.