1 Nephi 3:1-4

1 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, returned from speaking with the Lord, to the tent of my father.

2 And it came to pass that he spake unto me, saying: Behold I have dreamed a dream, in the which the Lord hath commanded me that thou and thy brethren shall return to Jerusalem.

3 For behold, Laban hath the record of the Jews and also a genealogy of my forefathers, and they are engraven upon plates of brass.

4 Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me that thou and thy brothers should go unto the house of Laban, and seek the records, and bring them down hither into the wilderness.

After Nephi’s profound experience of talking with the Lord, he returns and tells his father, the prophet, who is no doubt very happy and gratified for Nephi’s experience, both as his father and as prophet. Lehi then tells Nephi of a vision where he was commanded to send his sons back to Jerusalem (a distance of probably over 200 miles, according to the Book of Mormon study manual for Institutes) to obtain some very important records. Laban seems to be well known, but there’s no indication, or at least no strong indication, that Lehi knew he was related to Laban. Why would Laban have a genealogy of Lehi’s forefathers if they were not related? This appears to be the official record of the family, which would seem to indicate royalty. But according to the genealogy, they were descended from Joseph through Manasseh. By this time the other tribes of Israel had been conquered by the Assyrians. So how did the official records of the tribe of Joseph get to Jerusalem?