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, but was excommunicated in 1930 for promoting “heretical” doctrines. The official organization name was changed in 1942 to Davidian Seventh-day Adventists, but was still referred to as "The Rod" by both members and critics. The group was headquartered at a property known as the Mount Carmel Center near Waco, Texas and reached its peak in the early 1950s with thousands of adherents before splintering into various factions after Houteff's death in 1955. The name is a reference to Houteff's initial and most important publication, The Shepherd's Rod. The various groups claiming Houteff's theology continue to be known as the Shepherd's Rod and Davidians. History Houteff's early questions The Shepherd's Rod traces its roots to Victor Houteff, who was then a Seventh-day Adventist Church member in a local California congregation. During the first quarter of 1929, Houteff came into conflict with church authorities over differing interpretations of chapters 54–66 of the book of Isaiah. He believed that the church was becoming lax in its standards and needed reform. Houteff shared these concepts in his Sabbath School lessons and afternoon study classes at the church. After church members complained, the local leadership determined that his interpretations were not compatible with Adventist theology. He was then asked to discontinue his classes. Shortly thereafter, Houteff had an informal meeting with some local and regional church administrators to share his views. The leaders dismissed his views as "fanciful" and did not take him seriously. In November 1930, Houteff was disfellowshipped by the local Seventh-day Adventist congregation "for the protection of the church" just before he published his book. Houteff saw himself as a messenger of God and was regarded by his followers as a prophet. Publication of The Shepherd's Rod By the summer of 1930, Houteff compiled his ideas in a 172-page manuscript entitled The Shepherd's Rod. He called for a worldwide denominational reform and allegedly brought "new thought" to Seventh-day Adventists eschatology. Houteff listed twelve specific areas that he felt the church needed to address under the heading "Partial List of Abominations". According to Houteff, the book's chief purpose was "a call for reformation". It also included information attempting to define the identity of the