In my experience, 1 Nephi 4 is where a good majority of investigators stop reading the Book of Mormon. This is the account of Nephi killing Laban. (p.s. anyone offended by God commanding to kill needs to read the old testament) It's not all heroic and miraculous like David and Goliath. The ultimate test of faith for us as sons and daughters of God is to act according to God's will despite contradictions that may exist within us.
Case in point: Nephi is compelled to kill a man (in a rather brutal manner) in seeming contradiction to everything he had been taught from the brass plates about "Thou shalt not kill." God could have destroyed Laban himself-- he didn't need Nephi to cut off his head. Nephi needed it. It was his chance to prove to God and himself his unwaivering faith.
Another well known example: Abraham and Isaac. Abraham had been promised by God a posterity as numerous as the sands of the sea. And FINALLY, in his old age he has a single son. But, all the sudden God tells him to go up and KILL his only son, the only son that would fulfill the prophecy that God himself gave Abraham. How's that for a mind-boggling contradiction! What did he do about it? He obeyed. Despite how confused, frustrated, lost, hopeless, lonely, stupid, or angry he may have felt, Abraham got up on that mountain and was ready to destroy his greatest hope and most prized posession. (as a side note, in Hebrews 11:17-19 Paul suggests that Abraham had such unwaivering faith in God that he just assumed that Isaac would be raised from the dead after he was slaughtered...)
The scriptures point out in many instances (D&C 101:4, for example) that the saints in the last days will be tried "even as Abraham." So, we should expect that trials of our faith will arise from situations which may involve very difficult contradictions. Don't let the apparent contradiction defeat your faith. Stay true, and the full purposes of God will be revealed and the Spirit will testify of it.
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