Even though gospel teachings and inspired priesthood leaders brought peace and hope to funeral attendees, the sting of tragedy remained.

A young man, only 19, was dead from an accidental drug overdose. His friends sat speechless, his family heartbroken. Neighbors longed to know how to help.

His stake president said it best: The young man, he explained, was a casualty of war, a life lost on a silent battlefield.

Drugs have been devastating lives since the earliest times. Many government leaders have described drugs as the gravest domestic threat facing nations.

The United States declared war on drugs in the early 1900s. Through initiatives, government leaders introduced drug policies intended to discourage the production, distribution and consumption of illegal drugs.

But, as family members of the 19-year-old overdose victim are painfully aware, government efforts are not enough.

Further, illegal drugs are only the tip of the iceberg.

Today there is an additional threat. Many are now abusing over-the-counter and prescription drugs found in the family medicine cabinet.

And the sad reality is that our children are growing up on the battlefield. Twenty-seven percent of public school students ages 12 to 17 in the United States say that their school is drug-infected, according to the "National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XV: Teens and Parents," which was released in August of this year.

One in three teens — or 5.7 million public school students — know with certainty that drugs are used, kept or sold on their school grounds, according to the survey, conducted by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University,

The report also found that 39 percent of 12- and 13-year-olds in drug-infected schools can get alcohol in a day or less, and 24 percent can get marijuana in a day or less.

"I wish I could say that all of our people are free from this scourge," said President Gordon B. Hinckley in an October 1989 general conference address. "We may not be able to change the nation or the world. But we can change the problem in our own lives as individuals and, in that process, move others in the same direction."

Speaking this October during the priesthood session of general conference, President Thomas S. Monson told the brethren of the Church that it is their responsibility to keep their bodies clean and pure.

"The Apostle Paul declared: 'Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? … The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.' "

President Monson then issued a warning call: "Hard drugs, wrongful use of prescription drugs, alcohol, coffee, tea, and tobacco products destroy your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Any form of alcohol is harmful to your spirit and your body. Tobacco can enslave you, weaken your lungs, and shorten your life."

Drugs also have other negative impacts.

According to the Columbia University survey, 75 percent of teens say that teens they know who drink or use drugs are more likely to engage in sexual activity.

And while no one has the answers to fight this war, Columbia University research supports decades of Latter-day Saint teachings.

The researchers found that "family ties," that is the bond between parents and their teen, has a dramatic influence on whether or not a teen will use drugs.

Compared to teens in families with strong family ties, teens in families with weak family ties are:

Four times likelier to try tobacco.

Four times likelier to try marijuana.

Almost three times likelier to drink.

Twice as likely to have a friend/classmate who abuses prescription drugs.

Twice as likely to have a friend/classmate who uses illegal drugs such as acid, ecstasy, methamphetamine, cocaine or heroin.

President Hinckley told members, in his 1989 general conference address, they cannot afford to tamper with drugs.

"Certainly you must be grateful for your bodies and your minds, the very substance of your mortal lives. Certainly you must know that health is the most precious of assets. Certainly you recognize that, for the years that lie ahead, you will need health of body and clarity of mind if you are to live productively and with the respect of your associates. You would not knowingly break an arm or a leg just for the fun of it. Broken bones will mend and will function again in a normal way. But a mind warped by drugs or a body weakened or distorted by these evil things will not be easily repaired. The drug-induced destruction of self-worth and self-confidence is almost impossible to restore.

"To you who may be partaking, I repeat, stop immediately. To you who at any time in the future may be tempted, I urge you to stand your ground. Reflect on the fact that you are a child of God our Eternal Father, endowed with those faculties of body and mind which will help you to take a place that is significant in the world in which you live. Do not throw away your future. Do not jeopardize the well-being of your posterity."

The parents of the 19-year-old overdose victim echoed President Hinckley's resolve as they pleaded with all the young people attending their son's funeral. "Emulate his good qualities," they told the teens. And, they pleaded, "Learn from his mistakes."