I'm doing a report for school about the cult that was in Waco, Texas. Can anybody help me?

Question

I don't want the information about when the police came and what ever happened then. I want the information about how the cult started and about the leader, David--I can't remember his last name sorry. And some information about the other people that were in the cult.

Answer 1

David Korash( not sure of the spelling) was a religious zealot. However, he never had any real problems with the law. The county sheriff never had a problem with him. Several times he had wanted to talk to him and David always came in. David thought he was the reincarnation of Jesus. He was probably a bigamist, however, what went on inside the Waco cult was not known. Many of the people were families. He got in trouble for modifying a firearm that was illegal. Reducing the length of a shot gun under 18 inches. It spun out of control when the federal government took over. The sheriff said he could have called him in and talked to him instead pf what happened.

Answer 2

Vernon Howell changed his name to assume some biblical legitimacy. "David" referred to King David, and "Koresh" referred to the Hebrew for King Cyrus of Persia who was mentioned--by name--as restoring the Jews to their land (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1).
Hit the wikipedia article here:

The article refers to the Seventh Day Adventists. You will want to be familiar with them, too. Briefly, A Mr. Miller (hence, the "Millerites") counted up some things in the Bible and determined that Jesus would return at this point in the 19th century. Of course, he didn't. Ellen G. White then rescued this group from finding the truth by asserting that Jesus did actually "return" by entering the Holy of Holies (in heaven, of course) and beginning a "searching investigation" of all humans. Personally, my Savior is God and already knows everything and doesn't need to "investigate" anything. More importantly, these folks trace their denomination's origin back to a failed prophecy that they are still trying to explain away. Hence, all the other Scripture being explained away as well, along with with this bizarre fascination with the end of the world.

Answer 3

David Koresh (born Vernon Wayne Howell) (August 17, 1959 – April 19, 1993) was the self-proclaimed leader of the Branch Davidians religious sect, believing himself to be the final prophet, until a 1993 raid by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and subsequent siege by the Federal Bureau of Investigation ended with the burning of Branch Davidian ranch, causing the death of Koresh and most of his followers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Koresh

Answer 4

The only thing that I can suggest is check Google.com or Ask.com under Waco Cult

Answer 5

im not sure what exactly you're talking about, but heres something:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waco,_Texas
if his last name was Koresh then heres something:
http://www.rickross.com/groups/waco.html
if it's called the Cult of Death:
http://www.time.com/time/daily/newsfiles/waco/031593.html

hope this helps, and good luck

Answer 6

Branch Dividians..
David Koresh...
The were all murdered by the US govt.

Answer 7

If you have time to post the question here, you should be doing your own homework.

How can you claim credit for a paper when you don't do your own research?

Answer 8

David Koresh

Vernon Wayne Howell was pretty much your average Houston teenager. "Vernie," as the other kids called him, was a dyslexic high school dropout born to an unwed teenaged mother. Pretty typical. In 1979, he went to Hollywood to make it as a rock guitarist, but after only two years gave up and moved to Waco.
In Waco he became a member of the Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist religious cult, led by 67-year-old Lois Roden. Vernon enjoyed a sexual relationship with the charismatic senior citizen. When Lois died in 1986, a bitter power struggle ensued between Vernon and Roden's son George.

When a majority of congregants sided with George Roden, Vernon's followers were forced off the Mount Carmel complex at gunpoint. They relocated to Palestine, Texas. It seemed to have been basically a peaceful schism, as far as your crazy religious cults go.

But truth be told, nobody was all that surprised when Vernon returned to Mount Carmel in 1987 dressed in camoflauge with seven trusted acolytes. They had two shotguns, seven rifles, and 400 rounds of ammo. George Roden wound up with gunshot wounds in his hands and chest. Vernon and his squad were brought up on attempted murder charges, but none were ever convicted.

History of the Branch Davidians
Origins
The Branch Davidians have their origins in the Seventh-day Adventist church. This in turn had its origins in the "Millerite" movement in the USA - a group who followed the teachings of Baptist William Miller who in 1833 concluded that Bible prophecy told the date for the end of the world.
Following the "Great Disappointment" of 1844 when Christ failed to return on the date expected by Miller's prophecies, some Millerites formed what became the Seventh-day Adventist Church (officially formed as a denomination in 1863). From the beginning Adventists believed God was specially guiding the movement and sent visions to communicate with the group. One woman in particular, Ellen Gould Harmon (later Ellen G. White) was believed to be chosen by God as a special prophetess with messages to guide the church. From her first vision in 1844 to her death in 1915, Ellen White passed messages from God to the church, providing thousands of messages from God to the church.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church still exists and believes now as then that it is God's specially chosen church. However since Ellen White's death there have been no more "prophets" and the church has become an "established" denomination, similar to many other churches.

In the 1930s an American Adventist called Victor Houteff claimed that he was God's new prophet for the church. His claims were not accepted and he was disfellowshipped from the Seventh-day Adventist Church, however a number of Adventists believed his claims and left with him to form the "Davidian Seventh-day Adventists", also known as "The Shepherd's Rod".

The Branch Davidians
Following the death of Victor Houteff in 1955 his widow Florence Houteff took over the leadership, however this was opposed by Ben Roden who claimed that God had chosen him. After Florence Houteff incorrectly claimed the world would end in 1959 Ben Roden formed the Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists, recruiting a large number of Davidian Seventh-day Adventists to his cause.
Ben Roden introduced the observance of various Hebrew feast days, such as Passover, Pentecost, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles.

After Ben Roden died in 1978 his wife Lois became president of the organization. She claimed to have been shown by God that the Holy Spirit is the feminine aspect of the trinity.

In 1981 Vernon Howell joins the Branch Davidians, and in 1983 has his first vision from God. This generates friction between him and George Roden, Lois's son. Eventually Vernon Howell takes control of the group. In 1990 Vernon Howell changes his name to David Koresh.

On 28 February 1993 the ATF raid the Branch Davidian compound at Waco, Texas, but are beaten back by the Davidians. On 19th April the ATF attack again, causing the compund to explode into flames, killing eighty-six people, including seventeen children. Vernon Howell (David Koresh) also dies in the flames. There are only nine survivors: Renos Avreem, Jaime Castillo, Graeme Craddock, Misty Ferguson, Derrick Lovelock, Ruth Ottman-Riddle, David Thibodeaux, Marjorie Thomas and Clive Doyle. During the seige a number of adults and children were released from the compound, including Livingstone Fagan (author of a number of documents available from the Mark Swett site).