Did I misread the BoM that God made people dark skinned because they were evil and sinned against Him?
Yes, you misread it, or at least misinterpreted it, but some LDS do as well. Most Book of Mormon scholars believe that the phrase about darkness was metaphorical and have shown examples of this usage in ancient near-East writings, including the Bible. In any case, the references are not used to apply to blacks or other ethnic groups, nor is it meant to imply that skin color is a measure of righteousness or acceptability before God.
