Gender Confusion

I just happened to watch a devotional message on the BYU (Brigham Young U. - Mormon) channel, "Quorum of the Twelve Apostles", given by Elder M. Russell Ballard. I thought I would learn something about the Mormon perspective -- and yup, I sure did. I quote:

"Our heavenly Father created women and men who are His Spirit daughters and sons. This means that gender is eternal."  (my emphasis)

I'm sorry, gender is not "eternal" - it is a manifestation of the world of matter, of the outcome of the blending of both parents' DNA into a new and unique individual. And the soul which incarnates is neither male nor femaile. Yes, we are "children" - offspring of the Most High - God is Spirit - our Father-Mother-Parent, and therefore we are spirit and share the divine nature of God. Those souls who have had many incarnations might have a "soul-tendency" toward being male or female, but in spirit, we the soul is neither female nor male. Gender is a product of this material, Earthly world. The strength of gender identity lies in a combination of the hormones in the physical body with the soul memory of past lives. Both play a role in the understanding of gender identity.
For example, a soul with many female incarnations, when born into a male body, may manifest more female tendencies and even identify with a strong feminine side because of its many female incarnations. He may have effeminate behavior, be drawn to males for intimacy, or even manifest the urge to dress and "look" like a woman, even thought he is materially, biologically a male. And vice versa for a material, biological female tending toward male behavior and identity.
The material body is a vehicle for the soul to experience this Earthly, material reality. The design of the species to procreate requires DNA from a male (sperm) and DNA from a female (ovum) in order to create a new physical form, and by now, our own scientific history reveals the infinite variety of possibilities, most acceptable, and some aberrations which are culturally unacceptable (and this happens in every species - "broken" or incomplete or abnormal bodies are often left to die off) because of the physical challenges to live a productive life.
But to understand the possibilities of gender identity, one must take many factors into consideration. Before entering into this life, we choose the body and life we are incarnating into - for its challenges and its blessings. Once blended with the body, the soul has to act in this world according to both its spiritual AND its physical nature. We are what we choose to be. And I might add, if we had the possibility of choosing an asexual body (no genitals), there are many souls who would do so.
The success of any life does not lie with the boundaries of gender and the limited understanding of a culture. The success of any life is all about how we deal with each moment - making decisions which beneift others, while trying to eke out joy in this challenging world. Love, love, love is all there is.
So, are you a male ALWAYS and forever? Are you a female ALWAYS and forever? Wake up people -- the answer is NO. And promulgating a teaching as quoted above will onlystifle the creativity which God is manifesting through the human condition. We should be building bridges, not walls.