Can't save to etc directory

[Cybersmith]

Hi Folks,
I really am a newbie running 10.2.2, and I need some assistance with both
the terminal and Apache. I am attempting to configure my httpd.conf file on
Apache but the system will not allow me to save any file in the /etc/
directory. I am able to save a copy of the file elsewhere on my drive.
I presume that the reason I cannot save to the etc directory is that the
user under which I have logged in does not have write privileges for that
directory.
I only have two users both of which are admin users, and neither of them
will allow me to make changes to this file.
What can I do to solve this situation?

Many thanks,
Gary English