The History of the Adventist Davidians of the 1950s in Waco–Before David Koresh

In this informal round-table discussion with 1950s Davidian spokesperson Dudley Goff, Dr. James D. Tabor (UNC Charlotte), and Dr. Philip Arnold (Reunion Institute, Houston, TX) explore the origins of the Millerites, the Seventh Day Adventists, and the early Davidian movement led by Victor Houfeff, that flourished from 1935-1959 outside Waco, TX. David Koresh, who was not born until 1959, was very much a latecomer to the Davidian movement. Arnold and Tabor, who were both involved in the 1993 Waco tragedy, offer their academic analysis of the phenomenon of American Advent apocalypticism and how it helped them understand the “Branch Davidians” who rose out of the Houteff movement. See my blog post for an overview of further reading and resources: Remembering Waco: A 2020 Visons of Things, as well as chapter Two of my book Why Waco, “Moving to Mt. Carmel,” which gives a documented overview of this history.