There is no reason to believe Lehi and Ishmael’s families were NOT native to the middle east. Yet, as recently as the 2019 Book of Mormon video series, they are depicted as having a fair complexion, which is undoubtedly incorrect.

Why not show them with a more accurate skin tone?

It is important that the faithful believe they were “White” since that is the narrative from the opening pages. Then, through unrighteousness, Laman and Lemuel were cursed with a “skin of blackness” (2 Nephi 5:21) which we are to understand is the skin tone of Native-Americans.

What is baffling, is that the general darkness of pigment is certainly less discernable between Native-American and Middle Eastern people. There could even be an argument made that the skin of many from the middle east are darker than Native-Americans. This is a gigantic problem in the narrative. These Israelites ‘must’ have had lighter skin in order to distinguish them from the “blackness” (an exaggeration, as Native-Americans are not thought of as ‘black’) of the Lamanites, yet this is improbable in almost every way.

Joseph Smith’s premise lacked not only pigment, but research as well.