Communication is a fascinating concept. We start with a thought or a feeling or a belief. In order to convey one of those abstract items to another person, we usually formulate it into words, either written or spoken. Then we hope the recipient can "decode" those words into a thought or belief similar to ours.Some thoughts are relatively easy to translate into words: my name is David, this is a car, today is cloudy. We're pretty sure the meaning of those statements is being received by a listener. But other things, perhaps the more abstract and complicated ones, are not so easy to communicate.
There are at least two challenges in the process of communication: the originator's ability to put his thoughts into words, and the recipient's ability to receive and translate the words into the proper mental images or understanding. We often assume as the originator that the message "gets through," when that's often not the case — as someone once quipped, “I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant” (attributed to Robert McCloskey).
Hence Nephi's hesitance about putting thoughts into writing. He apparently felt that the immediate feedback of a direct spoken conversation instead of a written record helped give the assurance of proper communication. And perhaps more importantly, the presence of the Holy Ghost as a communication aid gave a better chance of success in the process.
