Didn't Jesus Pray to Know Truth When He Chose the Disciples?

This FAQ addresses the question “What Would Jesus Do?” in the setting of knowing spiritual truth.

The event of Jesus praying before he names his disciples is recorded in Luke:

Luke 6:12-13:  And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.  And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

There is nothing in this scripture that indicates the content of Jesus’ prayer.  Some people think he may have prayed to have Heavenly Father give strength to the men he would choose the next day.  Such a prayer would be similar to the prayer recorded by the Holy Spirit through the Apostle John in  John 17:6-19.  Other people believe he prayed for guidance (wisdom) in making his choice.

Often this event is used by LDS members to support the concept of praying to have a spiritual truth (doctrine) confirmed.  But choosing disciples is very different from discerning spiritual truth.  Yet it is still important to determine:  “What was Jesus’ pattern for knowing spiritual truth?”.  The Holy Spirit has inspired a lot of scripture that relates directly to this question.  This scripture shows that when Jesus wanted to give evidence of the truth, he always pointed to scripture as the method.  He never instructed anyone to pray to know whether something was true.