In the controller, there is a function that sets the true value to a variable.
function setShow() {
return this.isShow === 'Foo';
}
The value of this.isShow is set to 'Foo'
Within the template, there is
<div ng-if = "vm.setShow()"> Hi </div>
It appears that the HTML loads before the javascript function executes. Handling this scenario has proven to be quite challenging and is a problem that arises frequently.