Posted: 11:46 AM- Four Mormon missionaries, all Nigerian young men in their early 20s, were abducted Saturday from their apartment in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, and are still being held today by their captors.

Officials from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had hoped, through ongoing negotiations, to secure their safe release by now. But due to some glitches - not least of all the unreliable telephone service in the west African country - they're hoping for success Thursday, Bruce Olsen, spokesman for the LDS Church said this morning.

In a written statement released by Olsen at 11:20 a.m. today, he said the local bishop spoke to each missionary this morning and knows they are well.

"We continue to be optimistic about the outcome," Olsen said. "Missionaries from the Church serve at great personal sacrifice to them and their families. The missionary work in Nigeria continues to go forward. Their message is one of peace and love and they are well respected in Nigeria."

Olsen also spoke of the LDS Church's gratitude for worldwide prayers and efforts in the local Nigerian community to help resolve this matter.

The abductions came amid escalating violence in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, which prompted the U.S. State Department to issue a travel warning on Jan. 19. Heeding the warning, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints took care to move American and European missionaries - fewer than five missionary couples - to safer ground. Some moved closer to the temple in nearby Aba, while others relocated to different parts of west Africa.

The LDS Church singled out American and European missionaries for transfers because they are the ones most likely to be mistaken for oil company workers, who have been targeted for hostage taking. Since the start of the year, more than 70 oil company employees have been abducted, church officials said Tuesday in an exclusive interview.

What's surprising about this situation, beyond the fact that missionaries were targeted for the first time, is that the captors took their own.

''They've gotten four poor Africans, just like them,'' said LDS Apostle M. Russell Ballard, chairman of the missionary executive council.

And while some Nigerians may have gripes about the outsiders getting rich off their country's resources, these four hostages were simply "doing the work of the Lord," Ballard added.

He and Quentin L. Cook, of the First Quorum of Seventy and executive director of the LDS Church's missionary department, agreed that this incident has nothing to do with the church.

"There's a lot of mischief in the world, a lot of violence. . . . We've experienced it right here [at Trolley Square] in the last 10 days," Ballard said.

Looking at Nigeria in particular, Cook added, "It's hard to realize how common [hostage taking] has become there."

Political unrest has intensified in advance of April elections. Given the oil-rich delta, Cook pointed out that "the opposition party wants oil nationalized." Add into all of this the danger of copycat hostage takers.

Adapting to upheavals and security concerns is nothing unusual for the LDS Church. Past unrest in Ecuador, Peru and Colombia, for example, prompted shifts in missionary plans, Ballard said. And putting missionaries on "lockdown" during elections in places where uprisings might follow is also commonplace, he said.

Moving missionaries and missionary couples around is also the norm. They are sent where they are needed, and where they will be most secure.

"If there's a concern, we pull back," Ballard said. "But we can't abandon the church."

Nor do church officials believe Nigerians want to be abandoned.

Missionary couples help drill freshwater wells and cultivate land.

Young missionaries also give four hours a week to community service, helping people in their homes and giving time to local hospitals.

"Missionaries of all faiths are given a great deal of respect. They've done a lot of good for Africa," Ballard said. "Our missionaries are seen as a force of good."

For this reason, community members in Nigeria - including a tribal chief - are stepping up to help secure the release of the missionaries, the officials said.

"Nigerians are god-fearing people," Cook said. "They want God to bless that country, too."

jravitz@sltrib.com