What are the Requirements to Teach the Shepherd’s Rod Massage?

Many who are investigating the Shepherd’s Rod message today are wondering what are the requirements to teach in the name of this most marvelous and powerful proclamation of present truth. For example, someone recently asked on a Facebook discussion group, “are the non card holding members eligible to teach the Shepherd’s Rod Message?” The card being referred to is known as the Certificate of Fellowship card that was issued on an annual basis to supporting members of the work at old Mt. Carmel Center under the direction of Brother Houteff from around 1942 to 1955. Today the situation is somewhat more complicated since there are several competing factions all claiming to be the true storehouse or association which allegedly have the authority to issue such cards. Our purpose in this post is to clearly identify what the original SRod message teaches on this matter and attempt to make application to the situation we are facing today.

From the onset it is clear that in order to teach in the name of the “General Association of Davidian Seventh-day Adventists” (GADSDA) one would need to hold a valid Certificate of Fellowship as this is what the original SRod teaches. A series of question/answers along this line are listed below with supporting references from the original SRod message. To determine who actually is the authentic association that is qualified to issue valid Certificate of Fellowship cards is a much more involved undertaking which is addressed at the end of this present article.

Q: Who should avail themselves to the Certificate?

A: “So while it is imperative that all Present-truth believers avail themselves to this Certificate of Fellowship, it is even more urgent that all such should be first and second tithe payers, because if a Certificate of Fellowship is extended to those who could be but are not such tithe payers, they would become not only a demoralizing influence among believers but also deadly parasites in their midst. For this obvious reason the Association is therefore obliged to grant the Certificate of Fellowship only to full-fledged believers and cheerful doers of the Word. (In cases where it is impossible to pay a full second tithe, then, of course, a part is acceptable.) — Answerer Book, No. 4, p. 63

Q: What are the requirements for a Certificate of Fellowship?

A: “For this obvious reason the Association is therefore obliged to grant the Certificate of Fellowship only to full-fledged believers and cheerful doers of the Word.”– Answerer Book, No. 4, p. 63

“If one has unreservedly accepted the whole Truth, his privilege and duty is to be baptized into church fellowship. But having studied the Third Angel’s Message through the medium of the Rod, which is opposed by the Seventh-day Adventist ministry, he may consequently be denied baptism and membership by them. Nevertheless, if he has done all he can to receive baptism and to unite with the church, and they refuse to fellowship him, then his duty is to arrange with Mt. Carmel Center for baptism and membership… And it is the acceptance of the message of the hour, and a commensurate endeavor faithfully to obey all its teachings, that win the saint’s fellowship and heaven’s son-ship certificate.– Answerer Book, No. 4, p. 36-7

“One’s support of the timely Davidian message, and his living out its principles (baptism, Sabbath observance along with the rest of the ten commandments, vegetarianism, dress reform total abstinence from tobacco and alcoholic beverages, and all else contained in the Spirit of Prophecy), are the truest witnesses of his affiliation, and the only genuine visible certification of the fact. These are the only absolutely convincing evidences of one’s worthiness to membership in the Davidian Seventh-day Adventist Association.”– Answerer Book, No. 5, p. 82

Q: What is it that defines a member of the church or an Association?

A: “At the commencement of each message the people that marched on with the Truth were the individual members of the church which had become a church through the acceptance of a message, a message which its founder brought forth. For example, the entire Jewish church did not become a Christian church, but the Christian church drew its members from the Jewish church and brought them to advanced Truth, Truth especially adaptable for the time and the people then.”– Timely Greetings Vol. 2, No. 34, p. 24

Q: Does one have to pay a second tithe to be eligible to have a Certificate of Fellowship?

A: “Were one who can but does not pay second tithe to secure the Certificate of Fellowship, he would indeed be “money-grabbing,” for he would be reaping where he had not sowed–enjoying benefits from a fund he had contributed nothing to build up, and which he had declined to support.”– Answerer Book, No. 5, p. 85.1

Q: How does one go about obtaining a Certificate of Fellowship?

A: “To those who make request, the Association will send an application blank for Fellowship. If the applicant is unable to comply in full with all the requirements of the message, then to his application he must attach a satisfactory statement of explanation. Otherwise a Certificate of Fellowship cannot be granted.”– Answerer Book, No. 5, p. 83

Q: Does the original SRod message state that prospective members are required to complete an additional questionnaire to be eligible for a Certificate of Fellowship?

A: “One’s support of the timely Davidian message, and his living out its principles (baptism, Sabbath observance along with the rest of the ten commandments, vegetarianism, dress reform total abstinence from tobacco and alcoholic beverages, and all else contained in the Spirit of Prophecy), are the truest witnesses of his affiliation, and the only genuine visible certification of the fact. These are the only absolutely convincing evidences of one’s worthiness to membership in the Davidian Seventh-day Adventist Association.”– Answerer Book, No. 5, p. 82

Q: Is the Certificate of Fellowship the same as having membership with the Association, the Storehouse? Or put another way, may one be a member of the Association without holding a “Certificate of Fellowship?”

A: “Yes, one may be a member without holding the Certificate of Fellowship. But to be an accredited member, privileged to enjoy to the fullest all the benefits which the Association affords, he must hold the certificate.”– Answerer Book, No. 5, p. 84

Q: Can one be a Davidian teacher of the message without the Certificate of Fellowship?

A: Anyone not holding a Certificate of Fellowship cannot be a Davidian teacher in the name of a particular association. If they choose to be independent of an association then they would be teaching in their own name and not in the name of the original SRod message.

“The Bible and the books of the Spirit of Prophecy being the sole source of The Shepherd’s Rod message, therefore when the Rod is taught, the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy are taught. And since none but the Spirit of Truth who transmitted the mysteries of Inspiration can interpret them, then those who attempt to teach them without this Inspired interpretational authority inevitably fall into the forbidden practice of private interpretation (2 Pet. 1 :20)–the great evil which has brought Christendom into its present almost-boundless state of schism and consequent confusion, strife, and impotency.

As we dare not follow in such a path, we must therefore, as teachers of The Shepherd’s Rod (the official publications of the Davidian Seventh-day Association), teach only in the light of the Rod those passages which in one way or another need to be interpreted. Thus only will all Present-truth believers ever become of the same mind, seeing eye to eye and speaking the same things (1 Cor. 1:10; 1 Pet. 3:8; Isa. 52:8).

And such as do choose to engage in private interpretation are respectfully asked to desist from teaching in the name of the Rod and at its expense. Let them like honest men, teach in their own names and at their own expense.” — Answerer Book No. 5, pp. 55, 56

Q: What does one have to do to become a Davidian teacher beyond obtaining a Certificate of Fellowship?

A: They have to acquire a ministerial license as described in the Leviticus to be eligible to teach.

“Only those who hold the Association’s Certificate of Fellowship, are eligible to matriculate in the Davidic-Levitical Institute.”– Answerer Book, No. 5, p. 92

Q: What are we to do then as we strive to obtain the Certificate of Fellowship?

A: Listen to the message and pay the price.

Q: What are the benefits of having the Certificate of Fellowship?

A: “As we have therefore opportunity” says Paul, “let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10), to them who hold a Certificate of Fellowship.”– Answerer Book, No. 4, p. 59

And in the second place, it takes care of the needs of the worthy poor. In short, it is actually the original and only true mutual insurance policy, and should be carried by all Davidians who are eligibly holding the Certificate of Fellowship.”– Answerer Book, No. 4, p. 63

Of course, none but those who hold a Certificate of Fellowship can invest in the Bequeathment Certificate–share in this divinely dedicated savings system and consecrated social security.”– Answerer Book, No. 5, p. 62.0

“Were one who can but does not pay second tithe to secure the Certificate of Fellowship, he would indeed be “money-grabbing,” for he would be reaping where he had not sowed–enjoying benefits from a fund he had contributed nothing to build up, and which he had declined to support. In other words, while hoarding his own second tithe, he would be gaining the benefits of the Association’s second tithe fund.” — Answerer Book, No. 5, p. 85

Q: Are Davidians who do not hold a “Certificate of Fellowship” eligible to hold office?

A: All officers serving the Davidian Seventh-day Adventist Association, as well as all Mt. Carmel residents, should hold the Certificate of Fellowship.

Q: Can one hold the “Certificate of Fellowship” if he has no tithes to pay?

A: “Yes, if he is otherwise eligible.” — Answerer Book, No. 5, p. 85

Q: What literature besides the SRod are we to read and study to fulfill the requirements for the Certificate of Fellowship?

A: “The Shepherd’s Rod, the books that Inspiration so named and inspired its contents, being the only Rod in the world that can be heard speaking, the Lord commands that you should hear it, that you do not waste any time in deciding between the Rod literature and some other. For there is none other today than the Rod literature which God recommends you to hear. And when you hear the Rod, you will find yourself wrapped in the love of Christ and in the ‘arms’ of God. Try it.”– Timely Greetings vol. 2, No. 34, pp. 28-29

“Get your doctrine, Brother, Sister, only from the golden bowl (see The Shepherd’s Rod, Vol. 2), and be not like the waves of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed — be not carried about by the many winds of doctrine that are blowing wildly from every direction to cause you to lose your way to the everlasting kingdom.”– Tract No. 11, p. 12

“Find your explanations “in the Bowl,” and you will have no trouble in knowing the truth, or of avoiding the ever ready trap of deception. Thus the difficulty in knowing the difference between truth and error is eliminated.” — Shepherd’s Rod, Vol. 2, p. 289

“Said Jesus, “When the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into ALL truth.” If we should believe the words of the Master, then we must conclude that the “Rod” contains either ALL truth or there is NO truth in it, save the quotations of truth. Therefore, if we admit one truth revealed by the “Rod,” then we must accept it ALL. If God has been able to guide His servants in the past into ALL truth, He is able now. Therefore, we take the position that the message in the “Rod” is free from error in so far as the ideas put forth are concerned.”– Symbolic Code, Vol. 1, No. 8, p. 1.5

Q: What if I am not a member of an established Association, can I still teach in the name of the Rod?

A: There is nothing that can prevent anyone from witnessing in behalf of the present truth. However, when one engages in formal teaching of the Rod message there comes the sacred obligation to direct the student the ultimate source of your teaching. In the end this can be nothing other than the original Shepherd’s Rod message as it was first revealed in a series of books, tracts, and letters. Now where are you going to direct the student to acquire said literature? It has to be to an association or a group that publishes it or you will have to publish your own. If you do not publish your own Rod literature then comes the next pointed question . . .

Q: How does one go about identifying the correct Association when there are so many different groups and factions all claiming to be the true?

A:  This can be a challenging task with so many factions vying for the title, but not one that is possible if we truly believe that God has a voice on earth that speaks to us through the original SRod message, just as He has led His faithful saints in ages past. As one contemplates the following inspired counsel the next step to finding and identifying the storehouse of present truth today is to determine some criteria for distinguishing the true from all the counterfeits. In this regard we have put together some posts along this line (Criteria for God’s Storehouse: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3) and would encourage you to prayerfully investigate for yourself and settle once and for all who is who and where you can go to become a certified teacher in the name of the original Shepherd’s Rod message.

Our only concern should be to find out where is His “storehouse,” and then faithfully deposit His money there, and, if it is His “storehouse,” He will, without a doubt, take care of His own, but if He does not care for the storehouse which you think is His, then either your conception of His storehouse is incorrect, or else He has moved it to another place. “Seek and ye shall find.” — Symbolic Code, Vol. 2, No. 12, p. 9