Women used no cosmetics and wore distinctive long dresses. The group established its own press to print and distribute large numbers of Houteff's tracts. His writings were widely distributed, and Davidians converted scattered pockets of Adventists throughout the United States. Houteff changed the movement's name to Davidian Seventh-day Adventists in a successful effort to achieve conscientious-objector status for his followers.
His death in shook but did not destroy the group, which survived under the leadership of his wife, Florence. By then Waco had grown too close to old Mount Carmel, and the Davidians sold their property for residential development.
In the group bought a acre farm, which they called New Mount Carmel, nine miles east of Waco, near Elk. The Davidians predicted the imminent establishment of God's kingdom. People from California, Wyoming, Canada, and elsewhere sold businesses, farms, and houses to move to Mount Carmel and await a sign from God. About people gathered for this meeting, which began on April 18 and peaked on April Hope soon faded when the sign did not appear, and the Davidians began to disperse rapidly.
They sold all but seventy-seven acres of New Mount Carmel, and various Davidian splinters disputed ownership in court. The most significant of the splinter groups to emerge after Houteff's death was the Branch Davidians, organized by Ben Roden. When the great gathering occurred in , Roden appeared and announced that he was the sign the Davidians sought. The debacle discredited Florence Houteff, and a small following looked to Roden as their new prophet.
The Roden faction laid claim to the property at New Mount Carmel. Roden embraced the central teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist church and also Houteff's message regarding the purified church. Roden's own thought centered on the significance of the restored state of Israel. They resettled on a acre farm located nine miles east of Waco near Elk, which they called New Mount Carmel.
They called on members to gather at New Mount Carmel before that date, which coincided with Passover. About nine hundred gathered, but when signs did not appear, the Davidians began to disperse quickly.
The failure of the prophecy discredited Florence Houteff, and a small following looked to Roden as their new prophet. Roden traveled to Israel and established a small community of followers there prior to his death in Her teachers centered on the female nature of the Holy Spirit and the co-dominion of women and men in the church. This corresponded with ideas circulating from the Feminist Movement in the s and the growing egalitarian teachings of many Adventist sects.
She also often spoke to media outlets about the femininity of the Holy Spirit, hoping to spread her teachings to a wider audience. However, he was not widely respected within the community, and his own mother did not support his claim. She had aligned herself with Vernon Howell, a young, charismatic Bible teacher who had first arrived at Mount Carmel in After briefly leaving, he had returned in the mids and gained support and a growing following among the Branch Davidians. Howell and his followers resettled in Palestine, Texas, but returned to Mount Carmel two years later to gain control of the Mount Carmel property.
Eight men, including Howell, exchanged gunfire with Roden on November 3, , before being arrested and charged with attempted murder. Because Roden owed thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes on Mount Carmel, Howell and his followers were able to raise the funds and reclaim the property. Howell perpetuated many distinct Davidian traditions, including an authoritarian leader, communal life separate from society, and the anticipation of the imminent end of the world.
In , he changed his name to David Koresh, signifying his messianic role in carrying out a divinely commissioned task of defeating the enemies of God. While previous leaders of the Davidians, such as Houteff, had been pacifists, Koresh began stockpiling weapons and ammunition to defend the faithful. Ammerman and myself reveal that during the siege FBI officials ignored advice from their own profilers, negotiators and psychiatrist consultants to de-escalate the situation.
Koresh had predicted that the group would be assaulted and killed during Passover week, which, in , took place between April 6 and April After Passover came and went, Koresh sent out a letter on April 14 outlining his plan to come out after he wrote a short commentary on the Seven Seals of the book of Revelation. Significantly, the FBI log also reveals that on April 14, Koresh sent out a signed contract to retain his defense attorney.
In his letter, he had promised to come out after the the manuscript was in the safekeeping of two Bible scholars, J. Phillip Arnold and James D. Tabor, who had communicated with him via radio. Reno approved the plan for the assault on April Branch Davidians continued asking for word-processing supplies, which were delivered on the evening of April A surveillance device audiotape reveals that, after the assault started at 6 a.
But the telephone line to negotiators remained broken, and the assault proceeded. At a. According to a report by NPR, he remained in Waco and continued to hold Bible study weekly with Sheila Martin, another Branch Davidian survivor who left the compound during the standoff with three of her children; her husband and four other children died in the fire.
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