After Nephi says all that he does to his brothers, Laman and Lemuel, they feel that he has declared hard things against them. This is true. Remember that he had just told them that if you are wicked and die in your sins, that you would go to hell, dwell with the devil forever, and not be in the kingdom of God and dwell with Him. That's pretty harsh to tell righteous people.
Then Nephi acknowledges that he has told them harsh things. His reason that they would take preaching repentance hard is that the wicked take the truth to be harsh and it cutteth them to the very center. They know that they are doing something that they shouldn't. They might even be prideful. But because the Spirit is not with them, they are not humble enough to accept correction when it is given to them. They react harshly because of it.
A good cross reference to this is 2 Nephi 9:40. A portion of the verse states (I believe that Jacob is speaking), " I know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness; but the righteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken." The part that I want to emphasize here is that the righteous love the truth when they are told to repent or follow the commandments, and they are not shaken at those times. For example, when you are paying a full tithing or living the law of chastity, and you hear a talk or lesson on following those laws, you are happy and love the truth about the law and the fact that you are living it, you aren't shaken or disturbed by them. So, in the future, if you hear something at church or in conference and seems harsh to your or cutteth to your center against you, then evaluate that topic and see if you are living the way you should. Then the Holy Ghost will help you know what to change and how.
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