The Failed Prophecy


This file appears in: The Branch Davidians
The Failed Prophecy

After Victor T. Houteff’s sudden death in 1955, his second wife, Florence Houteff, became the first female leader of the Davidians. Because she did not claim to be a prophet, the executive council elected her to the office of Vice-President of the Davidian Seventh-Day Adventists. Florence had long been connected to the Davidians. Her parents, the Hermansons, provided $10,000 to the group early in its history as a down payment for the original Mount Carmel Center. Florence’s marriage to Victor Houteff in 1937 placed her in close proximity to the power center of the organization. After assuming leadership upon her husband’s death, Florence announced the imminent establishment of the Davidian kingdom, a bold move meant to energize the Davidians and consolidate her authority. In April 1959, she called on members to gather at the New Mount Carmel site which she had helped establish. April 22, 1959, was set as the date for the resurrection of Victor Houteff and a war in the Middle East, events that would coincide with the Passover. People sold businesses, farmsteads, homes, and most of their worldly possessions to move to Mount Carmel in anticipation of these signs from God. About nine hundred people gathered for a formal meeting, which began on April 18 and peaked on the Passover. But hope quickly dwindled when signs did not appear, leading the Davidians to disperse. All but seventy-seven acres of the new Mount Carmel property were sold. The debacle largely discredited Florence, and the Davidians and splinter groups such as the Branch Davidians began looking to others for leadership. ~ Source: Courtesy of the Texas Collection at Baylor University. Victor T. Houteff and Florence Houteff. [Waco] Branch Davidians: Robert F. Darden III Collection #2334, Series IV Photographic Materials, Photographic Materials: Photographs: “Mad Man in Waco.” (1 of 2), 1938-1993, Box 4, Folder 26. ~


This file appears in: The Branch Davidians