Shepherd's Rod - Succession

Succession

Victor Houteff died February 5, 1955. The day after his death, Florence Houteff, secretary to the General Association of Davidian Seventh-day Adventists and wife of the late V. T. Houteff called an Executive Council meeting (see Link regarding New Codes or False Codes, below). In that meeting she sought to gain support for herself as leader in spite of E T Wilson's position as Vice President according to The Fundamental Beliefs and Directory of Davidian Seventh-day Adventists, p. 15. Florence was successful in obtaining a vote as Vice President in exchange for portions of various assets of the Association to supporting members of the vote. Thus began a succession of attempts by multiple individuals to gain control as the spiritual head of the Davidian Seventh-day Adventist movement despite the fact that Victor T. Houteff stated in a publication entitled "General Conference Special" that "No other voice of timely truth and authority" would become available after "The Shepherd's Rod" message, and that "Any others will lead their victims blind-folded to perdition." (General Conference Special pg. 8).

One claimant was Benjamin Roden, a businessman from Odessa, Texas. Roden called on Houteff's widow Florence, the newly elected Vice President, to step aside and let him take over. Samuel Licayan, Andrew Johnson, (the first self-named Ben David), and Fred Steed were also contenders for Houteff's office.

However, Florence Houteff established herself as head of the GADSDA movement. Conducting studies of the Bible and her late husband's message, Mrs. Houteff came to the conclusion that the Forty-Two Months period prophesied in Revelation 11:2 would begin in early 1956 and end in 1959, at which point in time the Adventist Church would be purified by the events foretold in Ezekiel 9 (contrary to 14 Tract 22 which states that the slaughter of Ezekiel 9 takes place while the U.S. is at war).

Believing that the end of time was imminent, Mrs. Houteff and her council began a campaign to evangelize across the U.S., Canada, the West Indies and western Asia. The campaign included publicity events such as equipping cars with signs that read, "Hear Ye The Rod," a Biblical reference (Micah 6:9) to "The Shepherd's Rod" Message. The cars also were outfitted with loudspeakers to broadcast the Rod message to passersby.

As a publishing organization the GADSDA under Mrs. Houteff's direction printed massive amounts of literature for dissemination in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

In 1957, Mrs. Houteff sold most of the property which had comprised the Mount Carmel Center established by her husband in Waco, Texas. She and about eight hundred of her followers moved to Elk, Texas where they purchased 942 acres (3.81 km2), twenty miles (32 km) east of the town, and formed what she styled "Mt. Carmel Center." At this time her publications were urging all believers in the Shepherd's Rod message to forsake their property, homes and possessions, and assemble at Mt. Carmel Center to await the soon return of Jesus Christ.

In 1958, Elder Martin James Bingham, ordained minister of DSDA (Fundamental Beliefs and Directory 17), former secretary to Victor Houteff, one of the original founders of the first Mt. Carmel, published in his small periodical, The Timely Truth Educator, an issue now known as, The Last Mile Home, in which he refuted Mrs. Houteff's forty-two months doctrine; pointing out that since the "Gentiles," mentioned in Revelation 11:2 were not currently "treading the city of Jerusalem under foot," the forty-two months could not have begun. M.J. Bingham continued to voice his opposition to Mrs. Houteff's teachings in his monthly publication, The Timely Truth Educator.

M.J. Bingham continued to agitate against Mrs. Houteff's prophecies until 1959 when time proved her incorrect. She and 850 of her followers were in a profound disappointment.

In 1962 Florence Houteff decided to disband the GADSDA. She and what remained of her Executive Council divided the assets of Mt. Carmel Center amongst themselves and left Texas. Ten years later, Mrs. Houteff, then in her early fifties, re-married and re-joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

M. J. Bingham refused to abandon the Davidian movement. With former members of GADSDA from the West Indies, Australia, Canada, the U.S. and Indonesia, he formed an Executive Council, and called members of the old Association to a session in Los Angeles, California. H.G. Warden, a former Adventist minister, was elected vice-president. The "Davidian Seventh-day Adventist Association" was formed in 1962. Then, Elder Warden and most of the council abandoned the DSDA, and as it began to splinter into factions. Don Adair formed "The General Association of Davidian Seventh-day Adventists".