The Branch Davidians are an apocalyptic cult founded in 1955 by Benjamin Roden. They regard themselves as a continuation of the General Association of Davidian Seventh-Day Adventists, established by Victor Houteff in 1935.
A memorial at the Mount Carmel site identifying leaders of the Adventist movement from Ellen G. White to Vernon Howell
David Koresh in a 1987 mug shot
A memorial to the four ATF agents killed in the February 28 raid on the Mount Carmel Center
FBI photo of the Mount Carmel Center engulfed in flames
The Shepherd's Rod or The Rod or the Davidians is an American offshoot of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church. It was founded in 1929 by Victor Houteff, its President and Prophet. Houteff joined the Seventh-day Adventist church in 1919. He was excommunicated from the church in 1930 for promoting "heretical" doctrines.
Victor T. Houteff, c. 1950
The Shepherd's Rod, Volume 1 and 2. The first publications of the Davidian movement, published in 1930 and 1932 respectively.
Cover page for the Davidian Seventh-day Adventist Constitution and By-laws