Eagle Mountain becomes first ever 'Believer City'

EAGLE MOUNTAIN — The city of Eagle Mountain has become the first official "Believer City," and many in the community couldn't be more proud.

The initiative was spearheaded by its own "runner guy with a sign," Benjamin Lyne, who decided one day in the winter of 2022 that he wanted to give the people around him a little encouragement. For the past four years, Lyne has been running with a sign that says, "I Believe in You," and many have not only seen the sign, but have taken it upon themselves to start spreading the message — including the city's mayor.

"I've been involved with what Ben's been doing since his 'I Believe in You' initiative came out," Mayor Jared Gray told KSL. "One thing I've been talking about in City Council meetings is what I believe Eagle Mountain is and how we can be better as a community. I think this helps promote what I've been promoting, which is bringing the community together."

Being a Believer City means the city, with the funding backed entirely by Lyne's nonprofit organization Show Me a Sign, will work together to hold events, as well as find places where permanent "I Believe in You" signs will be stationed. The city said it "approved a proclamation recognizing the importance of fostering encouragement, connection, and hope throughout the community."

According to Lyne, this is something that he has worked toward for a long time, adding that having the support of the city is "the best thing in the world."

"Over the years, I've had lots of ideas on how to share the message," Lyne said. "I thought, wouldn't it be cool if you drove by and caught a glimpse of a sign that says, 'Hey, you're believed in.'"

'I want to be around for people'

Lyne said that he doesn't want his message to become one of "fake positivity," because he knows full well what it's like to go through really hard things. In fact, as a child, he experienced the tragic loss of both his parents.

"I was born in Australia to a pretty large family," he said. "I had six biological sisters, and I was the youngest. We had great parents, and my dad ended up being bitten by a spider and ended up with a rare degenerative condition where it started to slowly eat away at his nervous system from the inside out. He slowly declined, and he eventually decided to take his own life and take my mom with him."

Lyne was 4 years old at the time, and he recalled being taken in by a local family. Unfortunately, over the next six years, he and his sisters were subjected to physical abuse. At the age of 10, he moved in with his oldest sister, and soon he and some of his sisters were taken in by a family in Centerville, who he said have been "amazing."

"Growing up, when people would ask about what happened to my parents, I would say that they just got in an accident because I didn't want to explain all what happened," he said. "But as I've gotten older, I've realized that my upbringing has a lot to do with what I'm doing now. I want to be around for people."

Why 'I Believe in You'

Lyne said that when he was thinking about what positive message that he wanted to share with the world, the phrase, "I believe in you," felt right.

"If I say, 'I believe in you,' what I'm really saying is I believe in your potential to be amazing," he said. "That's completely different than telling someone it will all be OK or that they're amazing. This message, it unlocks people. I'm forward speaking to the potential in you that you have, and it has a huge powerful effect. I call it the language of belief."

That language of belief was noticed by sixth grade teacher and local runner Becky Anderson, who decided to take it upon herself to start an I Believe in You chapter at her school.

"I'd see him around town running with his sign, and I went to his Motivational Mile event," Anderson said. "As a teacher, I do what I call a Lemonade Day once a month, and we invite a guest speaker in who can share a time when life gave them a lemon (and) they were able to make lemonade out of it. I asked Ben if he would be willing to come in and talk to our sixth graders. Many of the kids recognized him as the man who runs with a sign."

Ranches Academy, where Anderson teaches, has become the first "Believer School," and she said that she is excited to team up with Lyne this coming school year.

Spreading the message

Gray said he hopes that by Eagle Mountain becoming the first Believer Town, others will follow.

"It would be great if other cities did this too," he said. "With this Believer City initiative, wouldn't it be great to put signs in key spots around town? Even though we're the ninth fastest-growing city in the nation, I tell people what makes Eagle Mountain great is we still wave at each other when we pass on the road. Being a Believer City, I hope, will encourage people that even in disagreements, to extend a little grace and understand that people have different viewpoints. It doesn't make it wrong; it just makes it different. We want to show respect, even in the disagreements, and being a Believer City is a step in promoting that."

Lyne said that while taking his signs on the road is one part of his goal, he also wants to cover all his bases for people who need it. That's why, Friday night, he will be passing out signs at Miller Park in Provo at the Marshalls baseball game at 7 p.m., with the hope of setting a world record with the most people holding an "I Believe in You" sign.

"It's the first time doing it, so if we have one person, we'll beat the record, but we want to get as many people as we can," he said. "Let's show the world we believe in each other."

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