How did David Koresh use the idea of spiritual wives within the Branch Davidian group?

David Koresh, the leader of the Branch Davidian group, utilized the concept of "spiritual" wives to assert his authority and advance his apocalyptic agenda. After assuming leadership of the Mount Carmel community in the late 1980s, Koresh began taking several unmarried members of the group as his spiritual wives.1

In 1989, he further expanded this practice by asserting that he was the "perfect mate" for all female members of the group. Koresh claimed that his intention was to create a new lineage of children who he believed would eventually rule the world. This practice, which included taking teenagers as spiritual wives, became a focal point for allegations of child abuse against the community, drawing the attention of legal authorities and contributing to the tensions that preceded the 1993 raid on the Mount Carmel compound.12