Vernon Howell was born out-of-wedlock to 14 year-old Bonnie Clark in 1959. Ironically, his father was a carpenter. His mother gave him to her mother and sister to raise. For the next several years he thought his aunt was his mother. In 1964 his mother married, came to get her son and moved to Texas. He had learning disabilities that he later called dyslexia. The school placed Howell in a special education setting. Others teased him. Once, he was raped by several boys.
In spite of his learning disabilities, by the age of twelve Howell had memorized the New Testament. He found peace and escaped the bullies by attending church. According to Clifford Linedecker, "he could pick out a phrase, a sentence, or a word . . . and discuss the esoteric and meaning for twenty minutes -- or for hours." This same talent in addition to his knowledge of scripture made it easy for him to take control of the Branch Davidians in the 1980's. The history of the Davidians also made the take over a simple task. The Davidians split from the Seventh Day Adventist in 1930 when Victor Houteff was disfellowshipped after he declared that he had been "selected by God to cleanse the church of hypocrites and false believers."
At twelve, Howell found his niche. He was fast on his feet and immediately became a fanatic in sports. He became obsessed with his strength. He once wrestled another person fourteen times until he won. The more success Howell had in sports the more popular he became and this made him more arrogant and patronizing. Now he had what it took to attract girls. After quitting school in the ninth grade, Howell found church the ideal spot to find the kind of girl he wanted. He had many girlfriends and at 19, an illegitimate child that he never saw.
Howell believed he had a "special and unique relationship with God" one minute and that he was "'a worthless son of a bitch, scum who was so evil that he was amazed God didn't strike him dead on the spot.'" Howell described it this way. "Sometimes I was so scared I couldn't eat, and my bowels became so bound up that I used to have to reach in there and with my hand and remove my waste that way."
Just as Noyes and Jones before him had struggled with their own inadequacy, so too did Howell. Howell was obsessed with sex. He refers to it frequently in his Bible class. He felt terrible guilt over his compulsive masturbation. He even discussed it with his pastor who advised him to pray. When he realized no relief, he decided to leave the Southern Baptist Church and turned to the Seventh-day Adventist.
Just as Noyes had an obsession with Abigail Merwin and used scripture to back up his belief in multiple partners, Howell had a vision regarding the pastor's daughter. Afterward, he read Isaiah 31:15-16 and used this scripture to claim that God had given him the pastor's daughter as his wife. Even though he was forbidden to see the girl, he continued to relate his vision and press the issue in the church. As a result, he was thrown out of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1981 and straight into the arms of the Branch Davidian leader, Lois Rodin the leader of the Branch Davidians.
It was necessary to look at the lives of Noyes, Jones, and Howell to understand what started them on their journey. There are many other telling events and behaviors they share which are too numerous to mention here. The preceding sections ended at the point when these men began to form their groups. We must also look at each man's utopian idea and the similar means each used as the leader of their communal group.
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